To Regain What Was Lost
by littleolmee
Summary: Sasuke abducts Naruto and changes his memories.When Naruto runs into other Konoha ninjas he finds his past isn't true.Now he must find out if everything with Sasuke has been a lie, or is there really more than one truth as Sasuke says.Slash pairings,SaiNa
1. Chapter 1

Author's note 08-01-06 to the readers on fanfiction: This chapter is a repost of the original posted on 7-28; my beta found somethings she missed. My thanks to akume and Chubby-King-Chocobo for their reviews to the story. I wanted to let the readers here know ch 2, is ready to be posted. Currently I'm trying to decide if to continue posting here or not. I post at several sites and have recieved lots of positive feedback other places on this story but only two reviews stating an interest at this site. If you are interested in this story, please take the time to leave a review so I know there is more readers here on this site interested in this story. If I get several reviews to show there is an interest in this story I will continue to post at this site, if I don't I won't be posting. Thank you.

Blanket disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N WARNINGS FOR STORY PLEASE READ: This story has Yaoi/Slash pairing: (SAI/NAR) starting out with, non consensual sexual harassment; nothing explicit and nothing past groping, but still has that non consent issue. I wanted to warn everyone that it is happening in this chapter. (SAS/NAR) pairing after that, along with (Kak/Iru) later on, bad language, adult situations and talk of character death in this chapter. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by Slash pairing, non-consensual sexual harassment, not interested in reading spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Reviews and comments are welcome no flaming please; anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now.

My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work.

'thinking'

"talking"

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Naruto sat atop the Hokage Mountain gazing out toward the village of his birth, smiling he reached down and grabbed the bottom of his feet as he rocked back in forth. He had been so excited this morning that he had woken up early. After doing all his normal morning stuff and eating, he was now trying to waste some time. He was to report to the Godaime to receive his orders for his mission. Tsunade-baba was finally letting him go out on a mission away from the village. The wounds he received in the last battle in the war between the Sound Village, Konoha and her ally Suna had healed long ago. He figured his injuries must have really scared his friend cause everyone for the last couple of months had been on pins and needles around him, treating him like he was made out of glass or something.

Okay, so yes it was true he was bitten by Manda, the summoned king of snakes. Yes, the creature's fang had pierced his body. It had skewered him in the top of his left shoulder through his thigh on that same side. Damn it all though, he didn't even have a single scar anymore, thanks to the healing power Kyuubi gave him. So he really didn't see why Tsunade-baba had been unwilling to let him leave the village. She had gone as far as to forbid him from even going with Ero Sennin to train and help with research. Hell, he hadn't even done a simple D rank mission since the injury for fucking sakes.

One good thing that came from the whole battle was Orochimaru's death. Thanks to Gaara's sand control that he still possessed, they had all fought together backing the snake into the Kazekage's trap.

The Sound Village was now disbanded. Many of the ninjas had escaped and a small part of Naruto was glad they did. Those that were captured were put to death, being they were followers of Orochimaru. It bothered him knowing that they had been put to death. The ones he had fought against reminded him of Sasuke, fellow shinobis who had been tricked by the evil snake summoner into following him.

Tsunade-baba tried to explain it to him, not that it did much good. Gaara had been visiting him at the hospital while she was explaining. "You are wasting your time Godiame. Naruto is too soft hearted to understand such diplomatic issues." If he had more strength at the time he would have argued with them, but he'd fallen asleep before he could think of a good come back. Tsunade and Gaara were probably right; it wouldn't be good to have a bunch of Orochimaru followers running around. Still that was one duty a Kage had to face that he wasn't looking forward to.

The one person he had hoped to find at the village had been nowhere to be found. It seemed either Sasuke had escaped from Orochimaru on his own or he had been sent away when they attacked. Whichever it was Sasuke was now a wandering missing-nin, Naruto was sure he was out trying to grow stronger and hunting his brother.

Sighing Naruto wondered if he'd ever see Sasuke again, truthfully he was glad Sasuke wasn't at the Sound village when they had attacked. If he had, the council might have had him put to death. He missed Sasuke and wished things hadn't turned out like they did, but he'd rather Sasuke be missing than found and put to death. On the upside at least Sasuke was safe from Orochimaru now.

No matter what, he wasn't going to forget that Sasuke had admitted that he meant something to him. And even though Sasuke did beat his ass when they fought that time, in the end Sasuke hadn't kill him. It could have been a fluke he lived, but in his heart he just couldn't find the will to hate Sasuke. No matter how long he lived Naruto would always see him as one of his precious people.

Standing, he brushed the dirt off his ever-present orange outfit and headed toward Hokage Tower. He was suppose to meet the other members of the team and get the details about the mission there, he already knew that Sakura would be with him on this mission. He was happy about that, they had become close friends over the years and always worked well together. She had been contacted before him and had just happened to run into him before he had been alerted. She told him yesterday that Captain Yamato would be leading the group. Picturing the Jounin in his mind he shivered a bit, it wasn't that Captain Yamato wasn't a good leader it was just sometimes he could really creep him out with that look he had.

Kakashi had been assigned to some secret mission for awhile now and had been absent from the village, he really missed Kakashi leading them. When the silver-haired Jounin would lead him and Sakura he could almost forget about Sasuke being gone. It was like he had his family again. Naruto guessed it was because they had been together since they were 12, it was only natural to have a connection after all this time. Or maybe it was just his childish want for a family that he put everyone into such positions.

Stopping he hummed to himself squinting his eyes in deep thought as he pictured some of the people he knew.

Iruka-sensei was a mixture of a mom and dad rolled into one, like a proud papa one moment and a worried mama the next. Naruto snickered a bit to himself on that thought.

Kakashi-sensei was like an uncle; sure he'd watch out for you, but he would let you make your own mistakes. Only warning you to be careful after you hurt yourself.

Naruto had always seen Jiraiya as a dirty old grandfather who told you perverted stories you probably shouldn't hear.

Tsunade as a grandmother, one who often scolded him for doing the same type of things he saw her do.

If he was being honest Sakura-chan was really like a sister, Shinzue an aunt, Konohamaru and his friends were like younger bratty cousins.

Naruto chuckled; shrugging his shoulders at his own thoughts, glad no one knew the things his mind came up with. Because one thing was certain, if those people were his family then he had a very dysfunctional one.

Running across the roofs Naruto made his way to the Godamine's office, he really hoped she found someone he got along with to be the fourth man on their team this time. Landing at the tower, he began to make his way inside.

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Cursing and yelling could be heard all the way into the streets of Konoha surrounding Hokage Tower, the voices of one Uzumaki Naruto and Tsunade the Godaime of Konoha could be heard arguing, those who heard shook their heads.

A small handful of civilians that hadn't come to accept the boy shook in disgust wondering how the container of the Kyuubi would be allowed to speak to the Hokage in such a manner.

Those civilians, who knew and accepted Naruto shook their heads in humor of how he did.

His fellow ninjas had all come to accept him and simply laughed that someone so short and young had the balls to argue with someone like Tsunade-sama. When she had the power not only to make his life miserable with bad missions but, could beat him to death if she had wanted to.

Everyone wondered why she let him get away with such actions. Yamanaka-san, Ino's father, smiled at the question as he passed by remarking that blonde's were in short supply in Konoha so they had to stick together as the reason Tsunade put up with Naruto. While ridiculous, it was surprisingly widely accepted.

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Stomping down the path away from the gates of Konoha, Naruto grumped the whole way. Pouting he crossed his arms over his chest as he followed Captain Yamato. Him he could deal with, it was the one behind him he was angry about.

"What's wrong chibi, to put such a look on your face?" A fake friendly voice asked from behind him. "Your little pee pee in the wrong position or something?" Throwing his arms up in frustration Naruto yelled in disgust. "Aaaahhh . . . Tsunade-baba I'll get you for this I swear!"

Sakura, who had been walking beside Naruto, leaned back and gave Sai a disgusted look while he smiled back at her. "Sai, leave him alone." Sakura stated stepping behind her blonde teammate trying to put some distance between the two boys.

Sai smirked, as he shook his head no, "he's so cute when he's angry." He replied as if that explained it all. "I wish you two would just kiss and get it over with." Yamato yelled back as he sped up, chuckling when he heard Naruto curse at him.

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Stopping to set up camp for the night the trip had so far been about Sai pestering the hell out of Naruto and the blonde shinobi cursing and yelling how much he hated Sai. By this time both Yamato and Sakura had headaches and were tempted to knock one or both out.

Sakura shook her head as she worked on setting up her tent while Yamato was starting a fire. "Go get some water Naruto since you're done with your tent. Sai, get some more fire wood." He ordered in hopes to get some quiet for a while at least. Both turned and went in opposite directions as a collective sigh could be heard from the Jounin leader and the Chuunin med-nin.

Looking up at her Yamato shared a smile with her as he shook his head. "I still think they should just kiss and shut up." Sakura chocked on her laughter as she hid her face behind her tent flap getting herself under control, she shook her head at the Jounin leader. "I don't believe Naruto is interested in that with Sai." Shrugging his shoulders, Yamato smiled. "Maybe not but, Sai seems interested in him." Both shared a good laugh at their teammates' expense unaware of someone watching and listening.

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Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the two's humor, he didn't see what was so entertaining about this Sai character's actions toward the blonde baka. He had been nearby when he thought he had heard Naruto's voice, covering his chakra he silently moved up toward the campsite.

Upon seeing who was at the site he found himself drawn by two of the ninjas in the group. First was the girl member; pink hair and green eyed, Sakura. She had certainly matured since the last time he had seen her he admitted, but it was the other ninja that drew his attention, the last time he had seen this blonde shinobi had been when he left Konoha.

There was no doubt it was Naruto, same wild blonde hair that reflected his personality. Whisker-like marks on each cheek; three per cheek to be exact, and if he had gotten closer before Naruto had turned to walk to the stream Sasuke knew he would have seen the bluest eyes anyone had ever possessed. Oh, yes Sasuke knew this person well; he was the one whose image would not leave him, even more persistent than the image of his brother. In a flash he moved away from the camp toward the stream to get a better look at his ex-team mate.

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Leaning over to refill the water containers Naruto squinted up at the sun smiling back at it letting its rays warm his face, there was something about being out of the village that had always made Naruto happy. He wouldn't want to leave his home forever, but getting out into nature once and awhile was nice. It reminded him that there was more to life then just what he experienced in the village. Standing as he finished filling the last bottle, he had the strangest feeling someone was watching him, he reached out his senses trying to feel for enemy chakra or Sai's chakra, either one could be a call to be armed. Not finding anything out of the ordinary Naruto sighed and made his way back to camp.

Right after dinner Naruto fell asleep beside the fire. It had been a long time since he had been out of the village. The long walk had taken a lot out of him.

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Sasuke had stayed close watching the group, he was a little angry at first thinking they had replaced him so easily with another till he watched the interaction within the group. As he watched there was just something about this Sai character that sat him on edge, he did not like how he acted so casual with Naruto.

The Jounin leader had already retired for the evening, Sakura sat on the opposite side of the camp, obviously on watch, though she didn't notice Sasuke or this other shinobi's interest in Naruto. Sasuke fumed as he watched the dobe sleep, laying unaware of the possible danger from the dark-haired shinobi. Even Naruto's fellow teammates ignored his danger. Biting his lower lip he watched Sai slowly moved towards Naruto, who had fallen asleep near the fire. Holding as still as he could Sasuke watched as Sai moved until he sat right next to Naurto. In what could be considered either a bold act or an act of complete stupidity the older boy ghosted his fingers up Naruto's leg toward his crotch.

Clenching his fist Sasuke reminded himself that if he burst into the camp at that moment he would be in for a fight that he wasn't sure he wanted. 'It's not like I know the relationship of those two. Sure they fight, but it could be like when I was there.' His mind spat out to him, which only added to his anger. The idea that Naruto had a relationship that had replaced the rivalry/friendship they had shared made his eyes flash red with the power of his Sharingan. His attention was drawn back to the campsite by a flash a chakra, there was no power behind it, but anyone would have recognized it as a warning. With his thoughts on hold he continued to watch the events that were unfolding before him.

From Naruto's prone body, a flash of blue chakra surged forth stalling the older boy's hand. When it died back down the stranger smirked at Naruto, but he still continued. The second flash was a purple chakra, one that looked angrier. It did halt Sai's assault for a few more moments before he boldly disregarded the warnings Naruto's sleeping body was giving off. The last flash was red, the same chakra that Naruto had used when he fought against Sasuke in the Valley of the Ends so many years ago. This time it was not just for show as the other shinobi quickly drew his hand back in pain.

Sasuke smirked at the man's pained expression. 'That'll teach him usuratonkachi, good job.' He silently praised, he noticed the last flash had drawn Sakura's attention for a moment. Not noticing anything a miss she quickly went back to watching the surrounding woods.

'Who does this guy think he is, to be so familiar with Naruto?' Sasuke ranted on within his own mind until his rant flew right out the window as Naruto stirred, drawing Sasuke's attention back to the blonde.

Sasuke watched as Naruto stretched first squirming slightly in place as he yawned. Then in an act that just certainly should be considered illegal to do, he flipped himself over on his stomach and brought his knees up under his chest while he left his arms stretched out in front of him. At that moment he resembled someone bowing in prayer, but holy thoughts was not what bombarded Sasuke at that moment. Shaking his head Sasuke watched as Naruto stood stretching a bit more. Relaxing his stance, he began to walk toward the woods.

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Sakura who had finally put her attention on him called out. "Where are you going Naruto?" The blonde turned back rubbing his eye with the back of his hand; the act made him seem very childlike. "Got to go use the little boy's tree." He mumbled turning back to the woods and stumbled into the surrounding darkness.

Sakura could help but smile. She had been bopping him in the head for years now for trying to pee in front of her, she had finally gotten him trained to go away from the camp when he went. "Figures he only remembers when he's still half asleep." She remarked, stretching while she yawned.

Watching the blonde as he stumbled out of the camp sight Sai stood and headed in the same direction. "Sai?" Sakura called out, watching the dark-haired older boy. Turning back Sai smiled as his hand reached down to touch the crouch of his pants. "Little boy's tree." Sakura shook her head making a shooing motion to the other shinobi. "You're as bad as Naruto. Too much information." Taking that as his cue Sai left the campsite.

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Sasuke moved to follow the two shinobis wondering why he was the only friend the blonde had that was concerned about the attention the dark-haired teammate paid to him. Slinking around in the dark Sasuke watched as the one named Sai advanced on the dobe.

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Finding the blonde leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, Sai decided he'd have a little more fun with him. Sliding up beside him, Sai slammed Naruto against the tree he had been leaning against.

The blonde's eyes that had been tightly closed from the impact of hitting the tree flew open. As his male teammate decided to push himself against him in an intimate way, startling him even more.

With his blood boiling Sasuke watched in morbid fascination as this guy Konoha had thought to replace him with continually forcing himself on Naruto. It was obvious that the blonde knucklehead was in shock, seeing he'd frozen up like a first year Genin. Sasuke was barely aware that his Sharingan had activated when the scum grabbed Naruto in a place even he had not done. Sharingan spinning, Sasuke found his body acting on it's own appearing behind the other dark-haired ninja.

Naruto was in shock, he had still been half-asleep when Sai shoved him the first time and now he was handling him like Ero Sennin handled a Tea House girl. It wasn't the teen in front of him that drew his attention though, from out of the dark night that surrounded them spinning red eyes appeared behind Sai, that had his attention. Looking beyond Sai, Naruto's eyes widen even more when he was able to make out Sasuke's appearance in the dark forest. "Sa-Sasuke . . ." Naruto whispered, afraid that if he spoke too loud the vision would vanish.

Confused Sai turned meeting Sasuke's gaze. When their eyes met Sasuke bore down on the power of his bloodline limit on the other boy. Losing his grip on the blonde, Sai began to fall. Reaching out Sasuke took hold of his arm flinging him away from the one person he considered precious to him.

Naruto leaned forward in childish curiosity to watch as Sai hit another tree and slide to the forest floor, cringing a bit at the impact. Gasping as Sasuke took hold of his shoulders and pushed him back against the tree once again. "What does he mean to you?"

Pouting that Sasuke would ask him such a thing after not seeing him in many years, he growled. "Teme, what are you talking about?" Shoving Naruto back into the tree once again Sasuke growled at him. "That bastard that was touching you, what is he to you? Did you want his touch?" Shaking his head ferociously Naruto disagreed to his statement. "I hate him, he tries to take your place on our team. Do you think I'd want someone like him to touch me?" Letting up on his pressure he was using to hold the smaller boy in place Sasuke asked. "What am I to you?" Huffing a bit Naruto pouted as he looked directly into his long lost friend's eyes. "You're my best friend."

Naruto's eyes widened as he found himself trap staring into Sasuke's activated Sharingan. Watching as the black comas swirled around Naruto felt his eyelids flutter, everything was growing hazy. He felt his control over his own body leave him as his eyes rolled back. His eyelids closed as he completely lost consciousness.

As the smaller boy's eyes rolled back Sasuke crouched down pulling him forward over his shoulder. Sasuke leapt into the trees just as the other members of the team came bursting into the forest, having felt the flashes of chakra and heard their yelling.

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Bringing her hand up to her mouth Sakura stifled a sob when she recognized Sasuke standing on a limb above them with Naruto slung over his shoulder. Their ex-teammate had been missing for so many years, Sakura had basically given up ever seeing him again but, there he stood on the limb like he had walked out of a dream. His dark black hair still style the same as at it had been while they were growing up, he had obviously grown taller, and he was wearing a dark colored traditional haori and hakama.

Looking around she found Sai out cold lying against a tree. From the sound of the impact she had heard she knew he was hurting. Sai would have to wait though, for it was the smaller blonde she was currently worried about. She knew Sasuke had tried to kill Naruto once and the memory of Naruto hanging limply skewered on the fang of one of Orochimaru's snake was still fresh in her mind.

"Sasuke . . . what did you do to him? Please don't hurt Naruto." Staring down from his perch Sasuke sneered at her for assuming that he would harm his friend. Yes he did try once, but he realized he couldn't bear to harm the blonde fool. "Tch . . . I'm not going to harm him." Jerking his head toward Sai's fallen form, he continued. "It was that bastard you tried to replace me with that was making unwanted advances on him. Naruto's the only good thing that was in Konoha, but if this is how my friend is treated when I'm not there to take care of him then I'll not leave him with you."

Yamato moved to try and stop Sasuke, throwing several shuriken at his position, of course with his training from the criminal Sennin and his Sharingan Sasuke easily dodged them. "I cannot allow you to abduct Naruto. What are your plans for him? You know he is loyal to Konoha when he awakens he will fight you."

Sasuke laughed humorlessly at the so-called Jounin leader. "You don't understand just how loyal Naruto is to our friendship, he just told me I was his best friend. I will simply change his mind about Konoha." With that he reached up and pulled Naruto's hitai-ate off tossing it to Sakura who easily caught it. "Return that to Iruka-sensei, Naruto told me once the sensei had gifted him with his own when he passed him to Genin."

Pulling the forehead protector to her chest Sakura rushed toward the tree channeling her chakra into her feet as she pleaded. "Don't Sasuke, don't take him." Using a transportation jutsu once taught to him by Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto were surrounded by a twirling wind of leaves. "Konoha had their chance. Konoha allowed people like that one near him so he could hurt him. I won't leave my only precious person to the likes of your kind any longer." His cold haunting voice said as the missing-nin disappeared from view with Naruto in tow.

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Godaime: 5th Hokage

Ero Sennin: perverted hermit

Sennin: A wandering hermit or wise man. People who obtain this unofficial title are very skilled in various jutsus and have strength comparable to that of the Kage of a village. This is the spelling used by the web sites I used for my information.

Genin: Rookie/lower ninja. Acquire forehead protector and are grouped in teams of 3 with a Jounin sensei.

Chuunin: After at least 8 missions Genins can be nominated by their Jounin sensei to participate in the Chuunin selection exam. Chuunin perform C to B rank missions. Acquire military jacket /vest.

Jounin: Level after Chuunin, elite ninja. Can take on Genin teams, do A and S rank missions. Perform other positions in village.

usuratonkachi: total moron (Sasuke's pet name for Naruto)

hitai-ate: forehead protector

shuriken: throwing star.

haori: is a hip or thigh-length kimono coat, originally reserved for men.

hakama: is a divided or undivided skirt, rather like a wide pair of pants. Traditionally worn by men also worn in certain martial arts.


	2. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER 2:**_

**_Blanket disclaimer: _ I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**A/N WARNING:** **The following chapter contains sexual content between Sasuke and Naruto. This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru)later on, talk of character death; in this chapter, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Reviews and comments are welcome but, no flaming please, anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now. **

**_Author's note 08-02-06: _ Thank you to everyone on FanFiction who has read and especially reviewed. I really appreciate the encouragement. Thanks Akume, Chubby-King-Chocobo, Raeshi, and Infinity Ryen. Here is chapter 2, for your reading enjoyment. Remember readers your reviews give me the incentive to write more and post quickly. When chapter 3, is ready if I have recieved at least 4 reviews I'll continue to post here. **

_**My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work. **_

**'thinking'**

**"talking"**

**scene change:-----------------**

**_STORY:_**

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Sasuke reappeared farther into the forest carrying his smaller friend in his arms, enhancing his speed with his chakra he ran. Traveling quickly he headed toward the looming mountains in the distance. Several times he used transportation jutsu to put as much distance as possible between the Konoha shinobi and himself. Looking down at his friend Sasuke knew he was going to have to wipe out Naruto's memories if he was ever going to convince him to stay with him. The Jounin was right about one thing, Naruto was loyal to Konoha and would never abandon their village even if it were to be with a friend. He wouldn't understand that Sasuke couldn't return. It certainly seemed he was cursed; he had two places now that he could never return to.

Sasuke had left the Sound Village after Orochimaru had stopped giving him lessons. The criminal Sennin had begun to fear Sasuke's power and had stopped teaching him anything of real use. The lies his master had been feeding him through the curse mark had stopped affecting him once he gained a certain amount of power.

As the poison that had been filling his mind began to clear Sasuke realized the promises Orochimaru had been making him would never happen. There was no reason once he gave his body to Orochimaru for the man to go after Itachi. That was Sasuke's desire not Orochimaru's. With his common sense returning he figured out it was just another lie he had been fed to keep him complacent.

What had bothered him most after getting over some of the effects of the curse was when he remembered his fight with Naruto. He had allowed the curse to take him over, causing him to turn on the one person he had become close to since the loss of his family.

Itachi had gained the Mangekyou Sharingan after killing his best friend and Sasuke had come dangerously close to doing the same thing. He hated all the things his brother had done in his quest for power, to have to walk in his blood soaked footsteps for even a moment left him sickened. Had he been in his right mind he wouldn't have tried to take Naruto's life, but Orochimaru had made sure to drive him over the edge.

After regaining his senses Sasuke knew what he had to do so as not to lose his destiny. Stealing what provisions he could from his master's storeroom Sasuke departed the Sound Village; it had been only days after he left that he overheard about the defeat of the Sound Village. He had no feelings for anyone at the village so he felt no loss when he heard of how many had been killed. The village had only been a temporary place for him so its destruction held no meaning. Actually it was a relief to find out the Orochimaru and his henchmen were gone, it meant he could stop worrying about him coming to take over his body.

Coming out of his memories Sasuke concentrated on what he would do with his new companion. His brother traveled with a companion; even if Sasuke were able to grow strong enough to take his brother on he would still need someone to watch his back. Though Naruto had frozen up dealing with his own teammate back in the woods, he was still a powerful ninja. Sasuke had heard about the blonde's role in the battle at the Sound Village. The Kazekage from Suna had been the one to deal the killing blow to Orochimaru, but Naruto did survive facing off against him. Sasuke had overheard two Sound ninjas that had escaped the village talk about how they had watched Manda sink one of his fangs into a short, blonde-haired Konoha shinobi and the boy had lived. There was only one short, blonde-haired ninja in Konoha that Sasuke knew could live through such an ordeal. Having a powerful ally like Naruto would prove useful when he faced Itachi. Plus, this way he could make up for what he had done by protecting the smaller boy from people like that Sai character that was out to use him.

Taking a mental inventory of what all he had packed in his bag Sasuke smirked. He had all the necessary ingredients to help him perform the jutsu he had in mind. With the drugs he had he was certain that the jutsu would hold. Before he had left and after Orochimaru had stopped his teachings Sasuke had persuaded Kabuto to teach him some of his twisted medical jutsus. He was glad he had; now he had a use for them.

Daybreak was quickly approaching when he noticed Naruto was beginning to stir. Sasuke stopped, laying Naruto on the ground. Pulling off his backpack, he reached inside and removed the items he would need. Removing a small vial of chemicals he held it up inspecting it. Nodding to himself when he was assured it was what he needed to help set the forbidden jutsu he was about to perform he looked down at his friend and smirked. If Naruto ever found out what he was about to do he would not be happy, but it was in his friend's best interest. Filling a small extra flask about half full with water he poured the compound into it and swirled it around thoroughly mixing it with the water. When he finished, he began to perform one of the forbidden jutsus he had learned during his time studying with Kabuto. A jutsu that would blank Naruto's memories back to the point of his choosing and allow for Sasuke to fill them with ones of his own creation.

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Awaking from his forced sleep, Naruto raised a hand and laid it on his forehead. He had the worst headache, behind his eyes was throbbing with pressure. Using his fingers he squeezed his forehead in an attempt to relieve some of the pounding. The feeling that someone was squatting down beside him brought him completely in-tune with his surroundings. Startled by the feel of an unexpected presence beside him, he jumped a bit and crab crawling away.

"Dobe." Sasuke said handing him the flask of water.

Starring at Sasuke for a moment Naruto searched his memories to figure out what was going on and where they were but he found nothing. "Where are we?" Naruto felt something was off, the idea that Sasuke shouldn't be sitting beside him made him worry but, for the life of him he couldn't figure out where that thought had come from. Sasuke was his teammate along with Sakura; there was no reason that Sasuke shouldn't be with him.

Smiling at his friend's confused look; Sasuke shook the water flask gesturing for Naruto to take it.

The smile on Sasuke's face seemed genuine, though Naruto had the strange feeling that seeing Sasuke smiling at him and just being beside him was something he should be happy to see. Reaching out in trust of his friend Naruto took the flask and drank, never realizing he was sealing his own fate by drinking what was in the flask and listening to what Sasuke had to say.

"We were attacked; you need to be more careful. I had to save your butt, again." Finishing all the drink Naruto wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "Why aren't we in Konoha and where is the rest of our team? Shouldn't Sakura and Kakashi-sensei be with us?" Shaking his head Sasuke continued the lie. "Don't you remember? I know you got hit pretty hard but, did you forget they ran you out of the village?" Pulling back gasping Naruto had such a look of horror on his face Sasuke knew he had hit a nerve. "You don't remember?" He asked slowly, carefully watching Naruto's reactions.

Naruto tried to hold in his tears at the thought of his village tossing him away. He knew most of them had not treated him very kindly during his life but he thought he had made some friends; it was like a nightmare coming true. "Everyone ran me out?"

Taking the emptied flask back Sasuke placed it back in his pack. Feeling pity for his companion Sasuke decided to change his tactic. He wanted Naruto to stay for his own protection as well as to provide him with help but he didn't have it in him to break Naruto's heart. "No, your friends and sensei's didn't want you to go but they were outnumbered and you agreed to leave on your own. I saved you from a group of villagers who wanted your death. You remember now don't you?" He asked looking up from his pack. "You decided to travel with me since I had left the village to find the strength to kill my brother. We are best friends after all . . . you remember how devoted you are to me don't you?" Sasuke pressed on him knowing the jutsu and chemicals in his system would make the suggestions set in his mind, making whatever he said be considered truth in the blonde ninja's mind. The fact Naruto still had trust in him as a friend went along way in making the jutsu work, for if he would doubt anything Naruto probably had the strength of will to break the jutsu at this time.

Naruto tried to remember all that had happened to him and the longer Sasuke talked the more the past seemed to weave into his mind. He felt silent tears roll down his cheeks at how his friends were left with no choice but to watch him leave. He loved Konoha and as a ninja he would do what his village asked of him, even if it meant he had to leave the only home he had ever known. Naruto was thankful he had Sasuke with him. Even if Sasuke made fun of him for being childish. Sasuke explained how he got hit on the head when he got attacked. Sasuke had saved his life and Naruto just knew they were very precious to one another. He would gladly give his life for Sasuke and would follow him wherever he led.

With his thoughts back in order and his strength now returned Naruto stood up wiping the tears from his cheeks. He wouldn't cry anymore, tears never helped anything anyway. He wasn't alone in the world, he had Sasuke who was his friend and cared about him. "Well I'm fine now Sasuke are you ready to move on?" Naruto asked looking around for his pack. "Uh . . . didn't I have a pack too?" Standing Sasuke shouldered his pack and began to lead the way. "It was lost during the fight . . . don't worry dobe we'll get you a new one in the next village we come to." Sasuke assured him. Grinning Naruto jumped around, as he would have when they were younger. "Let's go Sasuke!" He yelled taking the lead and skipping along the path.

Sasuke smiled slightly at his antics, he had been right to erase his memories and implant new ones. Naruto had not second-guessed anything Sasuke had told him; even his comment to Naruto while he had been altering his memories about the blonde's childish tendencies seemed to have set in. Sasuke watched his friend as his attention was grabbed by a passing flower. He could deal with such actions; the suggestion would ensure Naruto would follow him without question.

_**. . . . Flash ahead several years . . . .**_

Laying his clean clothes and towel down on a nearby rock Naruto removed his thin summer yukata that he used as a robe. Lowering himself into the natural hot spring, he sighed at the feeling of the warm water surrounding his body relaxing his muscles.

They had recently defeated Sasuke's brother Itachi. The fight had been very close, but luckily they had found him alone so with the odds in their favor they had attacked. It was a terribly bloody fight but in the end they were able to defeat Itachi. Naruto was just glad it was finally over. They had been tracking Itachi for years now while training with anyone they could convince to train them.

They had stayed on the battlefield not by choice but by necessity. They had won, but both had been injured severely. A night of sleep had done wonders for Naruto since he had the Kyuubi within him; the kitsune was able to heal the worst of his wounds to where his life was not in danger. Pushing himself to make things a little better Naruto burned Itachi's body and treated Sasuke's wounds along with his own. By the time a couple of days had passed Naruto was able to scout the area, finding a clearing he helped Sasuke move away from the place where his brother had fallen. Of course Naruto had healed completely within the first week of the battle and had done everything in his power to make Sasuke comfortable so he would heal.

Taking up the soap he had brought Naruto washed paying particular attention to his stomach and private area. Scrubbing his lower stomach with the soap he made sure he got rid of all the sticky stuff that had been left on him after Sasuke had finished making them feel good. Laying the soap aside Naruto sank down into the warm water till his mouth was below the water line. Rinsing the soap off his body Naruto smirked, giving in to his childish side, he began to blow bubbles into the water. Still hiding himself in the water, Naruto puffed out his cheeks trying to mimic being a frog. He hadn't taken much time for himself while Sasuke had been hurt, so he was going to take the time to play while he could.

Now that Sasuke was healed, they would travel back to their home near the mountains soon. Naruto was happy they were going to be returning home, he missed their little house they had built together. They were only staying now to allow Sasuke to gather his strength for the trip. The weeks of rest had paid off and Sasuke was finally starting to feel stronger, the fact that he had wanted Naruto to celebrate their victory by loving on one another had proved that fact.

Naruto closed his eyes thinking back on how Sasuke had taught him how to love on him. Though they had been kissing for a while now it was only recently that Sasuke had begun to touch his body, and teaching him how to touch his in return, explaining how it would make them feel good.

Remembering back to those first clumsy times, Naruto smiled. He still remembered how Sasuke acted so sure of himself as he reached down and took him out of his boxers. Sasuke had held his member in his hand, stroking it till he cried out spilling himself all over Sasuke's hand. He was very sensitive especially to the kind touches Sasuke gave him; his male part had always grown hard from their kissing so when Sasuke had taken hold of him he had cum quickly. Naruto remembered how tired he had been after Sasuke had coaxed his seed from him. No matter how tired he had been though Sasuke had still wanted more. Taking control of the situation again Sasuke had taken hold of his hand and helped him wrap it around his length. Teaching him how to squeeze him and move his hand till Sasuke erupted as well.

He bit his lower lip as he remembered what they had done this time; it had been different from all the other times. Sasuke had promised it would feel good and he hadn't lied. This time Sasuke had gotten them both completely naked, which embarrassed Naruto to no end, even now he could feel himself blush just at the thought of it. After they were completely exposed to one another Sasuke had rubbed their parts together.

'He was right it had felt good but . . . it made a horrible mess all over us.' Naruto thought to himself pushing his upper body out of the water looking down at his lower body, checking to make sure he had gotten all of the sticky stuff off. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy what Sasuke had done with him, but it was the first time Sasuke had laid on top of him like that and had milked them both, most of it going all over him. Though it had been a similar feeling to having Sasuke's hand on him, the feel of Sasuke's member sliding against his own had sent shocks of pleasure down his spine. Both of their male parts had wept from the feel of the other, Sasuke had fisted his hands around both of their throbbing flesh and the wetness coated them, allowing them to slide unhindered against each other.

Shivering at the memory Naruto declared that his body was clean, dunking under the water to scrub the soap out of his hair. 'I guess if I was older and more mature like Sasuke I'd understand what is between us better.' Naruto decided as he leaned back to relax for a while.

Naruto wondered at times why Sasuke understood more adult things than he did. Sasuke always assured him it was because he was younger, but he knew he wasn't that much younger. 'Sasuke said it might have to do with the damn fox, it's an immortal being so it keeps me young.' He didn't understand how the creature could affect him like that but he couldn't find a reason not to trust Sasuke's explanation. Sasuke had always been good to him; making sure he ate healthy, treated his wounds, watched out for him when they had to be around other people. Sure they still fought at times but they were both strong willed, it was normal to not always agree. Besides he was quite satisfied to let Sasuke be the adult in their little family. 'I would rather be childish anyway, I still like to play.' Stretching out his muscles Naruto made for the shore, exiting the hot spring he began toweling off.

Stopping mid rub Naruto cocked his head to the side, listening to the sounds coming from the forest. He could just make out the sounds of humans talking rather loudly, not far from his position. Hiding his towel, yukata and soap between two rocks Naruto grabbed up his clothes and dressed quickly in his black fishnet tank shirt and orange pants. He was barefoot, being as he had left his shoes back in the clearing with Sasuke. He wasn't worried though; he was used to running around barefoot. Pushing his chakra into his feet, he ran up the nearest tree. Leaping toward the next one, he headed in the direction of the sounds he heard.

As he closed in he could make out the sound of a group setting up camp. Even if he was prone to act childish, he still was a trained ninja and Sasuke needed to rest, so he'd take care of them if they were enemies. Silently landing in a tree above the group that was setting up camp Naruto allowed Kyuubi's energy to filter into him extending his senses, claws, and teeth. It wasn't enough energy that it would alert the group below and he could mask it easily enough. This way he could hear without getting too close.

Holding onto the tree with his claws, so as not to alert the group below him, Naruto listened carefully observing them from the safety of the large oak tree. Narrowing his eyes at the group he noticed the three shinobis wore the symbol of his old village, Konoha. Gasping he looked them over trying desperately to remember if they were friends or not, sometimes his memories were fuzzy on what had happened to him. Sasuke explained it had been very traumatic for him, along with the head injury he suffered right after they decided to travel together had caused his memories to scatter. He still had trouble with his memories of his life in Konoha and his exile; it was like chasing butterflies when he tried to remember that time.

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Below the Konoha shinobi group consisting of Neji, Rock Lee and TenTen worked to set up their camp for the evening. They had finished a mission of delivering a prisoner to another country and were on their way back to Konoha, but right now they were all in need of a rest. Not that it had been a difficult mission but the prisoner had tried several times to escape so they had gotten very little sleep over the last several days.

Neji was the first to notice a slight tickle along his senses, nothing that couldn't be explained away but still the genius Hyuuga was not one to overlook anything. As he unrolled his bedroll, he activated his Byakugan and took a discreet look around. Locating the intruder Neji signaled to TenTen and Lee that they had company, both had become Chuunin and though they continued to innocently set up camp they moved toward Neji to speak quietly.

"There above us." Neji pointed out with a nod of his head. "How many Neji?" TenTen asked, getting one of her weapon scrolls ready. "Only one . . . I don't believe this person is a threat. We are only being observed and I do not see any weapons." Neji explained keeping his head bowed so their company would not notice he still was watching using his Byakugan. "What do we do Neji? Just let this person watch us?" Lee asked. His muscles tense so he was ready to spring if need be.

Sighing Neji let his bloodline limit recede as he stood. 'If I didn't know better, I'd almost think that was Naruto.' Neji thought to himself, it had been several years since he had last seen the hyperactive blonde who promised to change the ways of the Hyuuga clan when he became Hokage. Neji had foolishly hoped the knucklehead would succeed, but the chances for that had been ruined when he had been abducted by Uchiha Sasuke.

Tsunade-sama had been terribly upset when the team had returned with Naruto's hitai-ate and pack but, the boy was nowhere to be found. Sakura had cried as she explained what happened and Sai had met with a lot of anger from those who had called the blonde friend. His abduction was met with a lot of tears by many in the village; the outspoken shinobi had proven too many his loyalties for the village and his fellow ninjas.

Walking to the tree Neji prepared himself for a confrontation he hoped he wouldn't have to deal with, calling out in what he hoped was a friendly voice Neji tried to look non-threatening. "Alright, we know you're there show yourself." Taking the hint, Lee stood beside his rival friend and called up to the tree as well. "I, Rock Lee, swear no harm will come to you. We're ninjas from the Konoha Village, simply passing through on our way home." Lee explained trying his best to show he was an honorable man.

'Rock Lee . . . bushy brows?' Naruto thought biting his lip. 'I know Sasuke doesn't like me to talk to others without him, but I remember them. Maybe it will be all right to speak to them.' Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of TenTen. "Won't you show yourself? If you mean us no harm, it's only right to do so." Nodding to himself that the kunoichi was right Naruto dug in his claws and peeked around the side of the tree.

Neji stared at the blonde-haired young man looking down on him, seeing him face to face he had no doubt it was Naruto. He looked different from the last time he had seen him. His hair had grown out some flying wildly around his face and hanging down to his shoulders. His whisker marks were darker and wider than they had been and his blue eyes had elongated pupils, like those of an animal as he shimmied down the tree it was obvious he had claws also. To their shock as he descended his features changed, the animal like features lessened as he reached the ground until he looked like they remembered. Gone were the claws, dark whisker marks and elongated pupils. Now the only thing that remained was the whisker marks but even they had decreased until they only looked like thin lines on his face. He had grown some, but was still shorter than even TenTen; the only remarkable addition was his longer hair. He still radiated an aura of innocence about him.

Reaching up to rub the back of his neck Naruto chuckled nervously. "Hi guys, long time no see." He greeted his old friends who regarded him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. TenTen was the first to approach him, her anger stirring her to find out where he had been. "Is it really you, Naruto?" Having laced his fingers together behind his head the smaller blonde shinobi closed his eyes smiling. "It's me alright."

Clenching her hands into fists, TenTen held her arms down to her sides trembling. "Where the hell have you been all this time? Don't you know how worried everyone has been?" Shaking her head to rid herself of the sad faces of those who missed the baka she continued. "We thought Uchiha had killed you or something. If you escaped him why didn't you return? Tsunade-sama cried when we lost you."

Naruto bit his lip thinking about Tsunade-baba crying over him, he knew she had lost many that she held precious to her in the past. 'It's not like it's my fault though, they ran me out of my home . . . and what do they mean they thought Sasuke had killed me? If it wasn't for him, I would be dead.' Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to hold the hurt in. "Why would Sasuke hurt me? He's my friend; he saved me when the council ran me out of the village." Bowing his head Naruto swore he wouldn't allow them to see him cry.

The three shinobis exchanged questioning looks at Naruto's statement. Walking toward him Neji laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder to lend the younger one support. "Naruto, what do you mean you were run out of the village? You were never run out; you were abducted by Uchiha while on a mission." Naruto's jaw dropped as he listened to Neji's explanation, he never remembered Neji to lie before. Sure he had some dumb ideas about destiny and such but he had always been truthful with him. Raising his wide shocked eyes to Neji, Naruto tried to get his mouth to work again. 'Sasuke wouldn't lie to me, would he? Do they just not know the truth?'

Neji blinked and drew back from Naruto when he looked up at him. Naruto looked at him in such shock Neji knew the younger shinobi had no idea about what had truly happened to him. The smaller blonde's large blue eyes stared at him as if he was a lost child. Naruto's eyes looked very watery as if he was holding back tears from the information he had been given. In that moment, Neji knew he was powerless against that type of face. The boy's look just made you want to protect him. Moving to stand by his side Neji laid his hand on his back, rubbing him a bit in order to comfort him. "Tell me Naruto why did you think the council had run you out of the village and where have you been all this time? We looked for you for a very long time, but could never find any clues as to where you were."

Sniffing lightly Naruto bit his lip again and looked at the other two in front of him, seeing the concerned soft looks they were giving him. Naruto could tell they believed what they were saying was the truth and deep inside of him something whispered that maybe they could be right. "I've been with Sasuke this whole time. I got knocked out in a fight and a lot of my memories are foggy." Reaching back in his mind for that time he tried to remember everything that happened, it was still hazy to him even today. "When I woke up, Sasuke was sitting beside me, he told me I was knocked out in a fight and that the village had run me out for some reason. He said my friends hadn't wanted me to go but I agreed to for the sake of the village and that Sasuke had left the village before that. Sasuke saved my life, he wouldn't hurt me." Dropping his face so he could hide under his bangs, Naruto went on. "Sasuke and I have been together ever since, we just defeated his brother a few weeks ago. Sasuke is recuperating nearby, that's why I'm here." He tried to stay calm but, inside he was beginning to rage from the thought that Sasuke had lied to him and if he had lied about something like that what about all they had shared together.

"Naruto . . . Uchiha is a missing-nin, he ran away from the village to join Orochimaru in the Sound Village years ago. We fought against the village with our allies from Suna and defeated them but he was nowhere to be found. You and the team you were with ran into him while out on a mission. He injured one of your teammates and knocked you out. Sakura and the team leader Captain Yamato tried to stop him but he disappeared with you. We searched for you but were never able to find you or Uchiha. Naruto, you must tell us where he his, he is a wanted criminal."

Gasping Naruto drew back, sure he was angry at Sasuke right now but even he understood if they took him it would mean his life. "No Neji no. . . . " Naruto said, shaking his head no. "Sasuke isn't bad; he takes care of me. Sasuke isn't here to tell what happened. I'm not going to believe Sasuke lied because you say he has." Looking away from his old friends, Naruto sighed wondering who was right and why he didn't know.

"Naruto-kun why don't you return with us to the village?" Lee asked hopefully smiling brightly he explained. "At least to let everyone know what really happened and to find out the truth for yourself." Taking a deep breath Naruto shrugged his mind was in such turmoil right now it was hard to figure out what to do. "Go ahead and stay the night here." Naruto instructed them as he walked back to the tree he had been hiding in. Tensing his legs, he prepared to leap back into it. "I've got to go talk to Sasuke; I'll be back in the morning." Looking back at them over his shoulder, he warned. "You guys don't even think about following me. I might be angry with Sasuke, but I won't let you hurt him or take him. If what you say is true it would be trouble for Sasuke if you took him back." With that Naruto disappeared into the tree and sped away leaping from one tree to the other putting more distance between him and the three other ninjas.

The three individuals of the cell exchanged looks as the blonde ninja sped away. TenTen was the first to speak, shrugging her shoulders she huffed. "Well that's Naruto for you, always rushing off. What do we do Neji? Follow him so we can capture Sasuke or do we let Naruto make the decision?" She asked going over to her pack to get some food out for her dinner. A sad smile graced Neji's face, as he shook his head no. "While its true Uchiha Sasuke is considered a missing-nin, we have not one report where he was placed at the scene of any crimes against the village. Getting Naruto to return with us to the village is more important. When we have him safely back to Konoha we will await the Hokage's orders, if she wishes it we will go after Uchiha then." Neji replied as he finished setting up his spot for the night. Looking off in the direction the blonde had left, Lee wondered what was going on right now between Naruto and Sasuke.

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**Mangekyou Sharingan:** kaleidoscope copy wheel eye

**Sennin:** A wandering hermit or wiseman. People who obtain this unofficial title are very skilled in various jutsus and have a strength comparable to that of the Kage of a village.

**jutsu:** art, means

**kunoichi:** female ninja

**Hokage: ** leader of Konoha Village

**Kazekage:** leader of Suna Village


	3. Chapter 3

_**CH 3: **_

**_Blanket disclaimer: _I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**A/N WARNING:** **This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru), talk of character death, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained, as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Please consider leaving a review or comment about the story. Reviews and comments are welcome, no flaming please; anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now. **

_**My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work. **_

**'thinking'**

**"talking"**

**scene change: -----------------------------**

_**STORY:**_

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Jumping out of the trees Naruto walked back over to the spring and gathered up his things. Rolling the soap into his towel and draping his yukata over his arm Naruto headed toward the campsite where he and Sasuke had been staying. Normally he would have run back to Sasuke but his head and heart were both heavy from the things the Konoha shinobi's had told him. He usually just followed his heart but even it was confused as to who to believe and what to do. Breaking through the brush Naruto found his friend grilling a rabbit over the fire for their dinner.

Not looking up from the meat he had skewer Sasuke spoke to him first. "About time you got back from your bath, I was starting to worry. Thought I was going to have to come look for you. Put your things up Naruto, dinner is just about ready."

Moving to do as Sasuke had told him Naruto couldn't help but smile a bit. 'Sasuke always looks out for me.' He happily thought till another part reminded him about what the ninjas from Konoha had told him. Scowling at his pack Naruto huffed a bit. There was no choice really, what he remembered from when Sasuke and he first came to travel together was a hazy mess and none of it resembled the story his old friends just told him.

Taking a deep breath Naruto wiped the scowl off his face trying not to show any of his emotions, turning to face Sasuke he moved over taking a seat across the fire from him. Sitting down Indian style Naruto placed his hands on his knees as he leaned in ready to get some answers.

Wasting no time he dove right in to the subject he had on his mind. "Tell me again how we came to travel together Sasuke." Scrunching up his face Sasuke raised his face from their dinner to look at him. "Why?" Having always been short on patience Naruto narrowed his eyes at the dark shinobi. "Because I said to, now tell me again bastard." Looking back down at the rabbit he was cooking Sasuke replied. "We went over this years ago, you know what happened." Sasuke slyly looked back at him, giving him a good once over and smirked. "What's wrong usuratonkachi? Did that orgasm I gave you blow your mind away that much?" With wide eyes and a very red face Naruto stuttered. "N-no . . . ." Puffing out his cheeks as he pouted Naruto continued. "You're a pervert. Just tell me." Allowing his smirk to fall when it was apparent his lover wasn't going to take his bait and drop the questions; Sasuke blanked his face of emotions. "I had already left the village to hunt for my brother. I found you fighting against a member from the village who was trying to hurt you, I saved your butt and we started to travel together." Narrowing his eyes again suspiciously Naruto asked. "You told me they ran me out of the village. Are you sure the village ran me out?" Jerking his head once to agree Sasuke locked his dark eyes with Naruto's blue ones.

Unlike Sasuke who could mask his emotions Naruto had never been able to do so. Sasuke's teasing and evasion instead of making him forget what he wanted to know made him more determined. With his emotions getting the better of him the expression on his face twisted from embarrassment to one portraying his impatience. "I just ran into Neji, Lee, and TenTen." Naruto admitted, watching Sasuke's expression for any change from his words. Naruto went on when Sasuke remained blank. "They were very excited to see me. They had this crazy idea you had killed me." With still no reaction from Sasuke, Naruto continued raising his voice. "They said you abducted me off a mission." Unable to hold his temper anymore Naruto bolted up, pointing at his friend. "Neji said you were a wanted criminal, a missing-nin, they wanted me to show them where you were hiding so they could take both of us back to Konoha."

Standing up Sasuke looked around drawing out a shuriken. Shocked at Sasuke's actions Naruto's jaw dropped. "What are you going to do with that?" Activating his Sharingan Sasuke gave the surrounding woods a good once over to check for anyone that might have followed the blonde back to their campsite. "Where are the Konoha shinobi's?" Sasuke demanded, his voice dripping with venom. Walking over Naruto jerked the weapon out of his hand, throwing it so it lodged into the ground beside them. "No one is here Sasuke. They're far away in the woods on the other side of the hot spring." Naruto promised pointing in the direction of the spring where he had been bathing. "I told them not to follow me and they won't." Naruto stated turning his back on Sasuke. It upset him that Sasuke thought so little of him, like he would help someone that was out to hurt Sasuke. Sure he was angry right now and he sure as hell was confused but he still loved Sasuke.

"Your too trusting Naruto, remember what happened that time when I let you walk around by yourself at the festival. That boy stole the money I gave you when you weren't looking because you trusted him when I told you not to." Satisfied that no one was around Sasuke released his Sharingan. Walking around Naruto so he could face him Sasuke cupped his cheek in his hand. "Don't worry I won't let anyone hurt you." Jerking out of his touch Naruto pouted. "I'm not a baby Sasuke, so don't treat me like one. I can take care of myself, I'm a ninja just like you are." Crossing his arms over his chest Naruto stated. "I helped to defeat Itachi too. Besides those guys wouldn't hurt me, they were my friends when I was in the village. They even asked me to return with them so I could learn the truth." Sasuke moved quickly grasping hold of Naruto's shoulders and giving him a good hard shake. "No, you can't go back. Don't you understand they won't treat you like I do Naruto?" Releasing his friend Sasuke sighed. "Enough, we'll leave now and head towards home. Come on let's pack up so we can leave."

Sasuke made quick work of breaking down the camp while his blonde companion stood and watched. Soon all that was left was four packs and their dinner still cooking on the fire. Shouldering his pack and one of the provision packs Sasuke picked up the rabbit and began to walk in the direction of their home. He would have liked to stay a while longer to build up his endurance but it was more important to put some distance between themselves and the Konoha shinobi's. "Put out the fire Naruto and come on, we'll eat on the way. Don't forget to grab the other packs."

Pouting Naruto put out the fire like he was told to do. Standing up he turned back toward the way he knew his old friends from Konoha were. A part of him missed the good times he remembered having in that village. The times Iruka-sensei had taken him out for ramen, training with Kakashi-sensei, his travels with Ero Sennin, the friendships he had made. His memories got foggy after the Chuunin exams, sometimes he'd remember bits and pieces of missions with other members of the rookie nine but he could never remember any times with Sasuke after Tsunade-baba helped him that time he was in the hospital. Naruto sighed he wished he'd never gotten hit in the head, he hated not knowing what had really happened to him. While he knew he loved Sasuke the idea he could go and visit everyone back in Konoha was almost too much to pass up. Besides Sasuke had not explained why Neji, Lee, and TenTen had one version of what happened and he had another one. He was brought out of his thoughts by Sasuke yelling at him to come on, turning back he watched Sasuke walking away assuming he'd follow as always.

Angry that Sasuke would just assume he'd do whatever he said Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sasuke's back. 'Sasuke always tells me what to do.' Naruto thought to himself as he watched Sasuke walking away. He had the feeling if he didn't stand his ground this time he'd never have this chance again. "I want to go see my old friends in Konoha." Naruto yelled, stomping his foot to prove he was serious.

Sasuke stopped mid-step, setting his foot down he turned to look over his shoulder at Naruto. "Naruto, I can't return to Konoha. If you go, it's by yourself." Lowering his face so he didn't have to look Sasuke in the eyes Naruto nodded that he understood. "Is it because, they told the truth? Sasuke is a traitor to Konoha?"

Setting down his packs and their meal Sasuke walked back to Naruto to stand in front of him. "That is their version of it, mine is I left to grow strong enough to avenge my clan. You know that is what I've been doing." Naruto nodded, he did know that was what they had been doing for years now. 'So does it mean Sasuke didn't lie but if he's not lying then are the others? They think Sasuke stole me away but Sasuke says he saved me.' Naruto's mind was swimming with questions.

Bending down to catch his lover's eye Sasuke asked. "Think Naruto, do you remember me doing anything that was against Konoha?" Naruto thought back to all the odd jobs they had done while traveling together when they had needed to earn money. They had often found work doing odd jobs at the civilian villages they came to. These poor villages couldn't afford to hire a ninja from a Hidden Village but having a couple of young wandering ninjas show up looking for work had been more reasonable for villagers to pay for. They didn't always do odd jobs, just when they run out of money for their expenses and also when they decided to finally settle down and build a house together in the woods near the mountains. They had done a lot of odd jobs then. Though sometimes the jobs did require they use their ninja skills they had never killed anyone or run into anyone from Konoha. Naruto shook his head no. Sasuke was right, as long as they had been together Sasuke had never done anything against their old village.

"But there can only be one truth Sasuke. You said that you had your version and they had theirs. How can there be more than one truth and they both be different?" Naruto asked searching his friend's eyes for the answers. Reaching out Sasuke laid his hand on Naruto shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Maybe I've protected you too much. You really don't know how to make up your own mind do you Naruto?"

Sasuke sighed realizing perhaps he had gone too far in the past when protecting the blonde. "I'm going home Naruto, if you want to go with them then do so and when you're done seeing Konoha again if you want me you know where I'll be." Leaning in closer Sasuke brushed his lips over Naruto's cheek. "Go on and figure it out on your own. You'll never be happy if you don't." Letting go of Naruto's shoulder Sasuke gave him a small smile. "Just remember that I like you in a special way no one else does." Making a clone Sasuke had it pick up the two camping packs leaving Naruto's personal one behind, without so much as a goodbye Sasuke walked away shouldering his own personal pack and picked up dinner. Heading in the direction of their home with his clone following close behind Sasuke disappeared into the woods. Biting his lip Naruto grabbed up his pack and ran back to where the three Konoha ninjas had set up their camp. Not worrying about stealth Naruto crashed through the brush causing the animals in the woods to scurry out of his way, he didn't slow down until he burst into the campsite.

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Jumping up when they heard him coming through the brush Neji moved to the blonde's side when he stepped foot into their camp, the smaller shinobi had tears running down his face and seemed lost. Taking a hold of him Neji lead the young man to their small fire and pushed him to sit. Lee kindly pushed a cup of tea into his hands that he had been fixing for himself; one look at the younger boy proved he needed it more. "What happened Naruto?" Lee asked taking a seat in front of friend. "Sasuke said for me to go with you if that's what I wanted, he said I needed to make up my own mind on what the truth is." Raising his face from his teacup Naruto stared at them with big, watery innocent eyes. "He left me behind without even a goodbye."

Neji patted the young man on the head, with him acting in this way it was easy to forget he was only a year behind them, he just seemed so much younger. "It will be alright Naruto, we will take you back to Konoha in the morning." Neji promised, trying to give the blonde a small smile to encourage him. Shaking slightly from all the emotions running through him Naruto said. "Sasuke is such an idiot, he makes me so mad." Biting his lower lip he gazed up at the Hyuuga. "Sasuke can only see this far in front of him." Naruto explained holding his hand just a few inches away from his face. "He just decided how things were going to be and left me." TenTen gave the younger boy a warm smile as he lowered his hand. "You're safe with us Naruto-kun. It's alright that Sasuke left." Heaving a sigh Naruto said. "I just worry what Sasuke will do all alone, when he makes up his mind he doesn't think. I won't be there to kick his ass if he needs it."

The three older shinobi's exchanged looks over the blonde's head as he nervously took a drink of the tea Lee had given him. "I'm going to punch him in the nose when I see him again for leaving without saying goodbye." Naruto admitted sucking in a breath to stifle a sob that had work its way up. The Konoha shinobi's all shook their heads at the blonde.

"Naruto, aren't you upset about Sasuke lying to you?" Lee asked. Bringing his lips away from his tea Naruto sighed. "I'm confused, I know you guys wouldn't lie to me, but Sasuke has always been my best friend. If I believe you guys then I throw away everything between Sasuke and I. If I believe Sasuke then I'm throwing away my chance to see my home again." Pressing his lips together Naruto admitted. "I am mad but I'm just so confused."

They all tried to soothe the younger boy's emotions and get him to drink his tea. Neji steered his short friend to his own bedroll. Naruto's eyes were droopy; it was obvious he had worn himself out by being upset. It didn't take long for him to fall into a restless sleep. Satisfied Naruto wouldn't wake up, Neji motioned for the other two members of his cell to move away from the camp so they could speak about the sleeping boy.

Taking a seat at the edge of the campsite the three ninjas began to discuss their guest. "Neji, are we sure this is really Naruto? He doesn't act like the Naruto I remember." Lee asked taking a look back at the blonde sleeping on his team leader's bedroll. "Lee's right Neji. The Naruto I remember was somewhat childlike but, not to this point. This Naruto seems to have no control over his emotions at all." TenTen added crossing her arms over her chest. Neji nodded, he agreed with his teammates this was certainly not the Naruto they remembered. "Has it occurred to either of you that Uchiha might have something to do with how Naruto-kun is now?" His teammates exchanged confused looks then leaned closer to him. Sighing Neji continued explaining. "He did study under Orochimaru for many years, there is no telling what he learned under that mad man's guidance. Also if you remember, Captain Yamato reported that when Naruto was abducted Uchiha said he would change Naruto's mind about Konoha so he wouldn't fight against him."

Nodding Lee smacked his open hand with his fist. "Yes, that is right. So we can only assume the Uchiha Sasuke did something to Naruto to make him believe he was run out of Konoha so he would stay with him willingly."

Putting her finger to her chin TenTen remarked. "I get it, Naruto said Sasuke saved him when he was run out of the village. Naruto has believed all this time that he was banished from Konoha for some reason." Dropping her hand TenTen leaned in toward her teammates. "Whatever Sasuke did to him to insure Naruto would follow without questioning must be the cause of how he acts now. Like a side effect maybe."

Making an agreeing sound Neji turned to look back at Naruto. "Whatever Uchiha did hasn't wiped out all his memories since he remembered we were his friends. So perhaps there is a chance that what has been done to him can be reversed. When we get Naruto back to Konoha I'm sure Tsunade-sama will do everything within her power to help him." Turning back to his teammates Neji said. "You two get some rest, I'll take first watch." Standing up Neji moved toward one of the trees at the perimeter of their campsite when TenTen stopped him. "What if the Godaime can't help him?" Sighing Neji jumped up into the tree he had decided to use and settled down. "If she can't then we will have to watch out for him, because he is certainly more like a child than an adult." Neji called down to her as he activated his Byakugan to scan the area for dangers to their group.

Taking his silence as the end of the conversation TenTen walked over to her bedroll following Lee's example she settled down to rest.

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Heading in the direction toward the mountains where they had built a home Sasuke threw what was left of the rabbit onto the ground. He had eaten his fill and by the time he decided he was hungry again the meat would not be good. Some wild animal would have an easy meal tonight.

Sasuke sighed as he looked at his clone silently walking beside him carrying the two provision packs. It was strange not to have Naruto beside him chattering about whatever entered his mind or wandering around letting things catch his eye. Truthfully he had been tempted to force Naruto to stay with him. Finally his vengeance had been realized and Sasuke had been looking forward to returning to their home and living out their days in each other's company. But if they were to remain together now that Konoha's version of what happened had been told Naruto would have to be the one to let the past go.

Sasuke could have lived the rest of his life and never seen another Konoha shinobi and been happy. 'Figures after I'm finally free from my duty to my clan that Naruto would run into someone who would confuse him as to what was going on.' Sasuke would have liked to follow his blonde friend to make sure he was alright but with the Hyuuga branch family member awaiting Naruto's return there was no way he was going to go deal with someone he couldn't sneak past.

No matter what happened Sasuke would never regret changing Naruto's memories. It was a necessary evil to ensure the blonde's cooperation, but he did wish at times he had realized back then that even the smallest suggestion or insult would have taken root. When he had causally remarked on Naruto being childish during the implanting of new memories he really hadn't meant to make him that way. It had made it easier to get him to follow him along with the blonde's trusting nature the suggestion had made sure he never second guessed anything Sasuke ever said to him. There were times though that he was sorry he had locked Naruto into this personality, Sasuke wasn't sure if Naruto would ever completely grow out of his childish tendencies but he hoped his lover would be able to figure out what it was he wanted. Thinking about Naruto's childish tendencies Sasuke smirked thinking about the trouble the Konoha shinobi's were going to have traveling with him.

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The walk back to Konoha was different to say the least. Neji had a newfound respect for the sensei's at the academy. Naruto was every bit as much of a ninja as they were but stuck within a child's mind. 'I wonder if this is how Iruka-sensei felt trying to teach us when we were in the academy?' Their progress was terribly slow since every time the blonde's attention was grabbed by something he stopped. It seemed his favorite activity was to chase things through the woods. When they tried to stop him, he always thought they were playing chase so he ran away even faster. They had finally caught him again and were now walking on the ground instead of traveling through the trees or even running. Neji had found it was just easier to hold Naruto's hand and lead him instead of allowing the blonde to walk on his own. Behind him he could hear his so-called teammates snickering at his expense as he held Naruto's hand and the blonde skipped along beside him jabbering. His was very torn at the moment. Part of him wanted to smack his teammates for their comments and laughter, another part just wanted to get home without any other incidents, and in the back of his mind he wondered how on earth Sasuke found Naruto's behavior an improvement.

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Finally the gates of Konoha were in sight, Neji continued to hold on to Naruto; for he was sure he would dash off again. Strangely their friend seemed to squeeze up tight against him and hold his hand tighter. The way Naruto acted reminded Neji of a small child holding onto his parent in a crowd of strangers. Neji gave him a warm smile in hopes to reassure him, Naruto's smile was shaky and his eyes looked very misty Neji noticed. At the gate when they had to let the guards on duty know who they had with them Neji felt Naruto attach himself to his waist. Looking down Neji saw the smaller boy had wrapped his arms around him and was rubbing his face into his side. Placing his arm around Naruto's shoulders Neji gained his attention. "It's alright Naruto, your safe with us I promise." Naruto nodded he understood but kept a firm grip on Neji anyway. Heading toward Hokage Tower Neji and his teammates exchanged knowing glances with one another in regards to their blonde companion, it was clear now to them that this was one benefit the Uchiha probably had over him.

Once at the tower they quickly found themselves ushered in to the Godaime's office by Shizune. It seemed the information of who was with them had already reached the tower.

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Naruto sat on a chair in front of the Hokage's desk, he fidgeted a bit under her gaze as the others told her what had happened. The trip had been irritating for him to say the least. Sasuke never got mad at him when he wandered off, Sasuke would just kept walking and when he finished seeing whatever had grabbed his interest he'd go back to where Sasuke was. It wasn't like he didn't know how to track. He would have told them but they just acted so upset he didn't want to make them any madder. Going through the village was kind of scary. It had been years since he had last been here and as far as he knew the villagers didn't want him here. He didn't want to start a riot or anything so he hung tight to Neji and hoped no one noticed him. He was brought out of his thoughts by Tsunade-baba speaking to him.

"What they told you is the truth Naruto. You were on a mission with Sakura, Sai, and Yamato when Sasuke attacked your teammates and stole you away. Sakura reported that Sasuke accused Sai of trying to assault you and that he was saving you." Nodding in understanding Naruto asked. "Can't we talk to that Sai guy again now that I'm here?" Lowering her eyes the Hokage shook her head no. "He was killed on a mission." Looking back up at the blonde boy she had missed so much she asked. "Can't you tell us what you remember?" Sighing Naruto shook his head. "I told you baba, I don't even remember anything that happened before I woke up with Sasuke. It's been a long time ago so even the days that followed are very fuzzy to me. I have always just believed what Sasuke said happened." Naruto admitted hiding his face under his bangs.

Standing Tsunade went to Naruto, putting her finger under his chin to raise his face her heart melted when she saw tears in his eyes. "It's alright Naruto. No one is blaming you for any of this. Please just believe me when I say no one ran you away from the village, we might not know what really happened in those woods that night but you were never not wanted here." Smiling Naruto leapt up and hugged her for her words. It didn't disprove everything Sasuke said, no one but Sai and Sasuke seemed to know the real truth about what happened in the woods all those years ago. No one could ask Sai, since he was dead and Sasuke had already stated what he believed happened. The only thing that could be proved that Sasuke lied about was him getting banished from Konoha. 'Why would Sasuke tell me that?' Naruto wondered, feeling the Godaime pushing him to release her.

Pushing him to sit again Tsunade explained she would need to check him over to see what had happened to his memories. Naruto nodded in agreement and sat as still as he could like he had been asked. It didn't take long for her to finish, she didn't look happy at all. Naruto thought as he watched her sit behind her desk again.

"Godaime-sama, can you help Naruto-kun to get his memories back and fix what Uchiha has done to him?" Neji asked from his place behind the boy. Tsunade shook her head no. "I've never seen anything like it. It might have started out as a jutsu of some type but over the years it has taken a firm hold in his mind. There is also a chemical imbalance in his mind. How Naruto is now is how he will be. I'm sorry I can't help Naruto."

Though everyone else in the room was melancholy about what the Godaime had to say, Naruto continued to smile. "I don't understand what you're talking about anyway baba so it's fine." Naruto replied happily swinging his feet in childish glee. The rest in the room exchanged looks regarding the blonde.

Inside Naruto's heart was hurting it seemed Sasuke or someone had done something to him. Though he didn't feel like anything was wrong with him he did believe Tsunade-baba, she was the best medic-nin there was so if she said something had been done to him it was true. He wouldn't let his friends worry though, he decided making sure to smile at those in the room more. He'd let them continue to think he didn't understand. It was easier that way until he figured things out.

The tense atmosphere was broke when Shizune opened the doors to admit all of Naruto's old friends in. It seemed word had spread quickly regarding his return. He received many hugs and pats on the back from those present. Tsunade allowed them their moment until many of his friends began to make plans with the boy; Tsunade called for attention from those in the room.

Having Shizune take Naruto out in the hall for a moment the Godaime explained to all present Naruto's condition which Neji and his team backed up with their observations. "Basically Naruto is a child in a young man's body. Mentally he needs supervision, I don't believe from what Neji and his team has reported that it would be wise to allow Naruto to stay by himself again."

Neji stepped up first. "I am willing to take responsibility for him for a while Hokage-sama. He is very child-like and was frightened to walk through the streets without physical reassurance. I'm not sure what his ninja capabilities are now but I do know he still has his ninja abilities if not even more than before."

Tsunade nodded in agreement until Iruka stepped forward. "Please Hokage-sama I think Kakashi and I should watch over him first." Kakashi's visible eye widened at the comment. "We should?" He asked, not that he wasn't willing to have the boy stay with them but they had just moved in together recently and taking care of a child wasn't high on Kakashi's list of things to do at the moment. Iruka turned and gave him a strict look. "Kakashi, you and I have both been his sensei's. We have experience taking care of young children with ninja abilities. We are the best candidates to watch Naruto first. You and I will be able to give a detailed report on what Naruto will require as far as care before others take on looking after him."

Tsunade used her interlaced fingers to hide her smile that had found it's way to her face during the two love birds disagreement. Using her commanding voice she straightened up calling Kakashi and Iruka's attention back to her. "Hatake Kakashi, Umino Iruka. I hear by order you as Hokage to watch over Uzumaki Naruto for a period of seven days. You will both be relieved of any other duties during this time. You will report back to me on the seventh day at noon. At that time you will report on what type of care he needs and another will be picked for a turn of seven days at that time. Is that understood?" The two she had been speaking to nodded in understanding. "Good, anyone willing to take a turn looking after Naruto will stay after he leaves with Kakashi and Iruka and give your name to Shizune." All the ninjas in her office stood at attention as she spoke. Giving a group "hai" when she finished her instructions. Smiling she promised. "Taking a turn with Naruto will be seen as an assignment. I'm not cruel enough not to pay hazard pay for such an assignment."

Calling Shizune and Naruto back in Tsunade explain what was going on. "Naruto, you will be staying with Iruka and Kakashi for a week. We will find someone else for you to visit with at that time. Do you understand?" Naruto smiled at the thought of staying with his old sensei's but wondered how he could stay with both since they lived in different places. Putting his worries aside he asked. "Can I still go play with my friends?"

Iruka laid his hand on his shoulder guiding him out of the room. "I don't see why not Naruto. Now everyone knows where you'll be and if they want to visit they can come over tomorrow. Let's get home so you can settle in." Iruka instructed ushering him out of the room. "Come on Kakashi." The academy teacher sweetly called, Kakashi sighed and followed after the pair.

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**usuratonkachi**: total moron (Sasuke's pet name for Naruto)

**shuriken: ** throwing star.

**Godaime: **5th Hokage

**baba**: grandmother, hag

**teme:** bastard

**hai: ** yes

**sensei:** teacher


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ch 4:  
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**_Blanket disclaimer: _ I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**A/N WARNING:** **This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru), talk of character death, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Please consider leaving a review or comment about the story. Reviews and comments are welcome but no flaming please, anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now.**

**ADDITIONAL WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: Kakashi/Iruka lemon, if not of age or bothered by slash pairing then push the back button now.  
**

_**My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work. **_

**'thinking'**

**"talking"**

**scene change: **-------------------------

**_STORY:_**

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The days after his return to Konoha passed slowly for Naruto. He spent his days catching up with all his old friends and reconnecting. His friends filled him in on things he had forgotten, and what had been happening while he was gone. With their help he relearned the village's lay-out, and soon knew his way around. The only thing that really bothered him was that no one seemed to think he could take care of himself. He didn't understand why they felt that way, or why they babied him and didn't want him to go anywhere alone. He got the feeling it was because they were worried Sasuke would show up and steal him away again, but it could also have to do with how they saw him as being childish.

He remembered Sasuke using the same insult in the weeks after they had first come to travel together. Well that is until Sasuke had seen him start to cry from his insults. Looking back now he felt a little ashamed that he had cried, he didn't understand why it had bothered him so badly. He remembered trying to make Sasuke believe he hadn't been crying, saying he had gotten something in his eye but Sasuke wouldn't believe him. That was the last time Sasuke had called him childish. Truthfully Naruto had been glad to be rid of that insult and now here it was again but there was no way he was going to cry about it this time.

It irritated him to have everyone treat him like a child, thinking he couldn't take care of himself. Sasuke had at times underestimated what Naruto could do, and Naruto would often catch him watching over him, but Sasuke never acted like Naruto couldn't spar or do other ninja activities, and he always insisted Naruto help around the house, not just play around. Since everyone was determined to treat him like a little kid Naruto figured it was for the best to keep up the act at least until he could figure everything out. He was still confused and wasn't sure how to act around his old friends and teachers. He had just returned to Konoha and he didn't want to end up banished for real because he didn't act how they wanted him to. Besides even if he was starting to understand some things it wasn't like he didn't like to play.

The longer he was in Konoha and the more he learned the clearer things started to be for him. For instance for some reason at first even the idea of individuals rank had been like a foreign word to him. Now that things had started to clear up it registered that he was the only Genin left from their group. The rest of their group had rose in rank, some were Jounins most were Chuunin. The idea he was the only one still a Genin was annoying but it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it.

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Naruto's fourth day back in Konoha found Sakura at Iruka and Kakashi's place, just like every morning since her blonde teammate's return. She blamed herself for not being strong enough to do more when he had been abducted. Tsunade-sama had explained in great detail about Naruto's condition and Sasuke's possible role in it. Naruto had always been childish, but for Sasuke to have taken away the strong, independent person Naruto had been and reduced him to a simple child who would never be able to follow his dreams was unforgivable in Sakura's eyes. She had swore to herself that she would give Naruto attention this time and would do all she could to try and help him recover.

Knocking on the door Sakura waited, listening closely she could hear shouting inside the home from Iruka and Kakashi telling Naruto not to run in the house and the sounds of someone running towards the door. She couldn't help but giggle as she heard Naruto apologize but it still sounded like he was running, soon he jerked the door open. "Good Morning Naruto-kun. Are you ready to go on our walk?" She asked watching Naruto struggling to put on his sandals while holding the door open for her. Finishing his task, Naruto grabbed his orange jacket off the hook by the door to cover his fishnet shirt as he yelled to Iruka and Kakashi. "I'm going out for a walk with Sakura!" Slamming the door shut behind him he skipped off, leading the way. Sakura cringed at the sound of something falling and breaking from the impact of the door being slammed shut. Sighing she turned quickly and followed after her teammate, she really didn't want to stick around since she thought she had heard someone crying from behind the door.

Stopping at some of the shops, she and Naruto picked up some stuff to munch on during their walk. She was determined that today would be the day she would start working on helping Naruto to remember the truth no matter how much it hurt her to admit. Leading him to a quiet place near one of the areas that was less developed, Sakura took a seat under a tree and got Naruto to sit with her while he ate his treat.

Biting her lip she worked on getting his attention. "Naruto . . . do you remember what happened the night Sasuke abducted you?" Looking up from his snack Naruto closed his eyes, thinking back. Shaking his head no, he swallowed. "All I know is what Sasuke told me and then what all of you guys have said." He explained looking down at his snack in his hands. "It's really confusing, the things Sasuke told me don't really match what you guys tell me." He tried to explain. "It doesn't make figuring out the truth very easy." Sakura interrupted him before he could go on. "Naruto, just stop. How can you speak of him like what he said to you matters?" Naruto didn't have answer for her so he just blinked at her watching as tears started to fall from her eyes. "Ugh . . . Sakura, don't cry." Naruto told her, dropping his now forgotten snack he reached out to touch her but stopped short of doing so.

He wanted to comfort her, but in the past he could remember Sakura getting angry with him for trying to touch her. While he had been thinking about what to do Sakura turned and wrapped her arms around his chest. Naruto looked around in shock at the sudden weight of his teammate against him. Sitting with his arms still extended from where he had hesitated to touch her Naruto froze. Sakura hung onto him and cried as she burrowed her face into his chest. "Umm . . . Sakura?" He asked, his voice reflected his discomfort awkwardly he lowered his arms and reached up to pat her on the back as she cried.

"I'm so sorry Naruto. If I had just been stronger, if I hadn't froze up like I did maybe you wouldn't have been taken. Can you ever forgive me?" She sobbed out looking up at him from his chest where she had been crying. Naruto smiled at her in a way that reminded her of when he was younger and had found someone whom he shared a similar pain with. "It's okay Sakura. I don't blame you for anything. Whatever happened that night happened, I'm not going to hold anything against anyone." He assured her and for a moment it was almost like the old Naruto was sitting there with her.

She was content in that moment till she realized he said he wasn't going to hold anything against anyone. Pulling away Sakura wiped her eyes. "Naruto you can't just forgive Sasuke too." Cocking his head to the side Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "Sakura, I understand Sasuke did some things that were wrong but he's our teammate and friend, we can't just turn our backs on him." Naruto said, and then quietly added. "Besides Sasuke treated me really well while I was with him, he said he likes me in a special way that no one else does." Looking away from his pink-haired friend Naruto tried to hide the blush that now stained his cheeks from thinking about how Sasuke liked him.

Sneering at the younger shinobi Sakura growled out. "What do you mean he likes you in a special way? Naruto, how could you still believe anything he said to you? Don't you get it? He lied to you, everything he said was a lie. He only told you those things to make you stay and do what he wanted you to do, he used you Naruto." Naruto bit his lip and clenched his hands into fists at the thought Sasuke had lied and all that had happened between them might not have been real.

"You don't know what I felt when I came upon the battle site there in the woods. Sai, our other teammate was lying at the base of a tree injured. He ended up with a broken arm and ribs from the impact of hitting the tree. He told us he had come across you in the forest where you had fallen back asleep standing up leaning against a tree." Breaking into a smile at her memory of the blonde stumbling out of their camp site to go us the bathroom Sakura explained. "You had gone to use the bathroom and had fallen asleep standing up peeing you idiot."

Naruto smiled back and shrugged his shoulders at her. Shaking her head Sakura lost her smile as she returned to her tale. "Anyway when I got there Sasuke was standing on a limb holding you in his arms." Looking back at her friend tears threatened to fall again. "I thought at first you were dead Naruto. You were just lying there limp, with your arms dangling and even your head was hanging back." She explained chocking once on a sob that had work its way up, brought on from the memory. "I was sure he had killed you. I yelled at him and he told me you weren't dead and that Sai had been assaulting you." Smacking the ground with her fist she ground her teeth in anger. "Then he ripped your hitai-ate off and tossed it at me like it was something foul he was touching, he said he was taking you away with him. Then he just disappeared with you Naruto." Looking back at her friend she could tell he was upset by what she had been saying to him but it had to be said. "Naruto we didn't know what he was going to do with you, if he was going to use you as a sacrifice to gain more power or use you as bait to lure his brother out so he could fight him." Shaking her head she looked away as she worked on getting her emotions under control again.

Watching his friend Naruto understood why she was so upset, if things really happened how she said they did then it had to have been a horrible thing for her to have lived with all this time. It certainly painted Sasuke in a bad light but if everything she said was really true than why had Sasuke been so nice to him? There was no way Sasuke could have been pretending all this time, maybe at first but not for the over three years they had been together. And what did it mean since Sasuke didn't use him as a sacrifice for power or bait? Naruto knew for a fact that Sasuke had treated him like a friend and companion, Sasuke had always treated him as an equal. So did that mean maybe Sakura just didn't understand what the situation had really been and Sasuke had been acting to protect him by abducting him? Naruto sighed instead of finding out what the truth was all he seemed to get was each person's point of view of what happened. Figuring out what was the real truth was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Standing he gave Sakura his hand so she could rise too. She had certainly given him a lot to think about, but now wasn't the time to try and figure it all out. He was supposed to go see Tsunade-baba soon, so he needed to return to Iruka and Kakashi's place since they were to go as well. Walking back to Iruka and Kakashi's place with his teammate, Naruto decided he had figured out one thing for certain today, it was the fact that was the pink-haired kunoichi no longer had a crush on Sasuke.

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Tsunade had sent word for Naruto and his hosts to come and see her so that she could check him over again, plus she had found something that belonged to him. She had just finished her examination of the boy and was happily surprised to find that the chemical imbalance she had found the first time she examined him had lessened. She had ordered his friends to make reports to her after they spent time with the boy. She had hoped being at home around familiar things would help him. From the reports she had been getting the boy still acted extremely childish but there were times they could see the old Naruto starting to show. She prayed the boy would be able to overcome this and take back his life. Taking a seat behind her desk, she watched as Naruto fidgeted in his seat as she brought a box out of one of the desk drawers and presented him with what she had found after his return.

Sitting in front of her desk with Iruka and Kakashi standing behind him, Naruto bit his lip to hold in his emotions as he stared at the piece of cloth and metal the Godaime was holding out to him. "I finally found this; I believe it belongs to you Naruto." The Godaime explained watching the young man in front of her. With very shaky hands Naruto reached out and took back his old hitai-ate pulling it to him to examine it. It looked just like he remembered, if not better because it appeared Tsunade had washed it and polished the metal before returning it. Having his old forehead protector back in his hands left him speechless from the emotions running through him. He had been without it since he and Sasuke first begun to travel together. He had always figured the council had taken it from him after they banished him, but now he knew that wasn't true.

After watching all the emotions play across the blonde's face Tsunade pushed herself out of her chair and walked over by him. Pulling the boy up so that he faced her she took the hitai-ate from his hands. Leaning down she planted a kiss on his forehead and then went about tying it around his head so that the metal plate sat above his eyebrows, just how he had worn it back before he had went missing. The weight of the metal and the feel of the old worn cloth being snuggly back around his head, felt more right than anything he had felt since Sasuke left him standing alone in their camp site allowing him to travel back to Konoha with Neji, Lee, and TenTen. "Perhaps in the future Iruka and Kakashi can find time to work with you on your ninja skills. If they think you can handle it maybe we can find some missions around Konoha you could do." Tsunade said. "Maybe things can return to how they were before you left." Raising his face Naruto smiled and nodded not trusting his voice.

Naruto was happy to have his hitai-ate back and just thinking about doing missions again warmed his heart. But the idea of staying in Konoha and living the lonely life he had once had instead of the life he had been living with Sasuke in their little home near the mountains hurt for reasons he didn't understand. Everyone thought he should hate Sasuke since it seemed he had done such horrible things to him but he still hadn't found the strength to do so yet.

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That evening after getting his hitai-ate back Naruto tried to spend some time alone in Iruka and Kakashi's guest room thinking. Having already had dinner and changed into his pajamas he lay back on the bed, interlacing his fingers behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling, thinking about everything he had learned and what he was feeling. He admitted he was enjoying his time being back in his home village, but it wasn't like being with Sasuke. Even being able to spend time with friends he still felt lonely. His chest hurt sometimes and, Iruka often came to wake him saying he was having a bad dream but he could never remember what he had been dreaming about.

During the day he made sure to keep a smile on his face for his friends and let them continue to take his playful nature as meaning he lacked any maturity. It seemed everyone who looked at him friendly had bad feelings against Sasuke. When he would try to tell anyone the things Sasuke had told him his friends would just smile and tell him how sorry they were that Sasuke had lied to him so much. He didn't feel any closer to the truth at all. He couldn't bring himself to have such bad feelings for Sasuke, those things everyone said Sasuke did was not the person he had lived with all these years. He didn't want to say his friends were lying but he knew for certain how Sasuke had treated him and it hadn't been badly.

Over the days he had been back in Konoha, his memories didn't seem to become any less hazy but he did feel like some things were beginning to fall into place. All his old dreams; wanting to be Hokage, his pride at being a ninja of Konoha, his loyalty to his friends, all those things were falling into place. The more information he got the more he felt in control of his own life. He knew there were still things he wasn't understanding and needed help with, but the more he learned, the more he was able to put together about what the truth was. Which was his whole reason for coming back to Konoha.

Being back was terribly boring though, no one wanted to spar with him, and they acted like he would get hurt or something. No one believed that he had helped take down Itachi or had trained alongside Sasuke while he was gone. Tsunade had said he could do missions in the future but with his memory loss and him still having what Tsunade-baba called a slight chemical imbalance they weren't willing to let him yet. It made him wonder if his memories never returned or the chemicals never left if he'd ever be able to. He knew part of it was his own fault for still being too childish and being playful but if they couldn't see past that to see what he was capable of then that was their loss. He was here to learn the truth and as long as everyone continued to tell him what he needed to know then he would just find things to entertain himself with.

Even with things starting to click into place he was still very confused. Besides trying to figure out what the truth really was, he also had to think about how he wanted to live his life and where. While part of him did want to stay in Konoha with his friends and live the life of a ninja, another part longed to return to Sasuke.

The life he had lived with Sasuke would never lead him to his dream of being the Hokage of Konoha but it had never been lonely like the life he had lived in Konoha. With Sasuke he awoke each morning in the arms of someone who saw him as a precious person. They worked together to take care of their little home that sat in a meadow at the bottom of a mountain range. He and Sasuke would tend to their garden, go fishing and hunting in the woods that surrounded the meadow. Sometimes they went into the civilian village that sat on the opposite edge of the woods and did odd jobs to earn money and shop for supplies. Their days were filled with sparring together, doing chores, even playing together and laughing. It wasn't the life of a ninja like he could lead here, but it had been a life full of joy. Sure there were times they disagreed, argued, yelled, and cursed, they would end up rolling around on the ground beating the crap out of each other. But then there was the times they hugged, kiss, and touch each other that left no doubt how special they were to each other. There was none of that in Konoha.

He had notice several things in the village had change while he was gone. Iruka and Kakashi's living arrangement was one of them. He was greatly surprised that the two sensei's now lived together like he and Sasuke had, though for some reason Kakashi-sensei slept on the couch. Their apartment did have two bedrooms; Naruto figured Kakashi must have been letting him sleep in his bed. He offered several times to let Kakashi have his bed back but the Jounin always insisted that the room was a spare for guests. Finally he figured Kakashi must just like to sleep on the couch, especially since every night Iruka would offer him a turn in the other bed but Kakashi always turned him down. Though he didn't understand why the two sensei's didn't just share a bed like he and Sasuke always had but he wasn't going to bring that up just yet. The two teachers had looked at him funny when he told them that he and Sasuke were sharing a house too, but everyone gave him funny looks whenever he said anything about Sasuke.

Naruto knew all about Sasuke's past now, not the one Sasuke told him but the past those here in Konoha knew of the raven-haired young man. Thinking about how Sasuke treated him it was hard to believe Sasuke would have ever tried to kill him. 'The only thing Sasuke tried to do that might have killed me while we have been together is giving me an orgasm that might cause a heart attack.' Naruto thought blushing at his memories of the intimate times they had shared. 'Had Sasuke just been using me all these years?' Shaking his head Naruto decided he didn't want to think about that. Just the thought left a bad taste in his mouth and he was afraid where it would lead. Rolling over Naruto pushed his face into the pillow on the bed he was using and hoped he could dream about one of the good times he and Sasuke had shared tonight.

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Toward the end of the week Iruka gave him a mission to do all on his own. He was so excited; he had become familiar with the village again thanks to all his friends taking him places, so he wasn't afraid to leave by himself. Especially after he realized he was welcomed in the village and had his hitai-ate back. Iruka had written down everyone's order for ramen on a paper then gave it and some money to Naruto to go pick up dinner for everyone.

Naruto was so happy to get a job to do on his own. Sasuke often gave him silly jobs like this to do. Sasuke would play he was Naruto's sensei and would give him things to do like they had done when they were Genin's just starting to do ninja missions. Sasuke had learned how to play a bit more over the years, Naruto had worked on helping him to not be so serious all the time. These play ninja missions were just to break up the boredom. Sighing Naruto tried to put Sasuke out of his mind. Remembering stuff they had done together reminded him that he hadn't seen Sasuke in almost a week, it made his heart clench but he ignored it by smiling brightly and skipping toward Ichiraku's.

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Iruka bit his lip hoping he was doing the right thing. Naruto turned out to need more watching then he had anticipated. When Naruto got bored he was apt to make messes and break things playing with ninja weapons. He cried out at night sometimes for Sasuke which made for some very long nights. Iruka had begun to wonder if it had been right of them to take him away from Sasuke. He seemed to need the other boy. Sighing Iruka shook his head at his own thoughts. Tsunade-sama had assured them that Naruto was getting better, but Iruka could sometimes catch when Naruto let his mask down and his guest didn't seem to be taking to living in Konoha as well as others seemed to think.

It wasn't that he was sorry he had demanded the boy come home with them first, but they hadn't had not had one moment to themselves since bringing the boy home with them. If it wasn't one or both of them trying to keep the boy entertained so he didn't sneak away to go make his own mischief then Iruka was either busy cleaning things up or catching a nap when the boy's friends would come and get him.

It was his own fault that he and Kakashi hadn't had any alone time. If he would have just let the Jounin continue to sleep in his bed with him Iruka knew Kakashi would have found away for them to have some special time together. Iruka just couldn't bring himself to sleep with Kakashi in the same bed after Naruto had so innocently asked why they shared a place. Even after the boy told him that he and Sasuke shared a house too he still didn't feel right exposing Naruto to his and Kakashi's lifestyle. He didn't want to shock the boy after all. Who would have though that he would be the one who was more frustrated by the circumstance then Kakashi was.

Watching from the door way Iruka waited till Naruto was completely out of sight before shutting the door, just as it fully closed Iruka took off for their bedroom stripping as he went. Kakashi had been sitting on the couch scanning through one of his Icha, Icha books while slyly watching his boyfriend at the door and was thoroughly shocked by his usually shy lover's actions. Quickly dropping the book on the cushion he moved to follow Iruka around the corner to their bedroom to find out what was wrong.

Kakashi gasped when Iruka grabbed him, jerking him into the bedroom. Kissing him through his mask and pulling at his clothes in an attempt to make Kakashi as bare as he was. Happily surprised at the now aggressive Iruka, Kakashi chuckled into one of the kisses, breaking away he pulled off his mask only to be pulled back by Iruka with such force Kakashi was sure their lips were going to be swollen.

"Maa, what's gotten into you?" Kakashi mumbled from between kisses. "I've missed you, we can't get a moment alone together because of Naruto." Iruka breathlessly explained. Still chuckling but now completely lacking in clothing, Kakashi answered as he backed Iruka to the bed. "I thought you wanted him here?" Laying back and dragging his silver-haired lover down with him Iruka sighed. "I do want him here. I guess we know what it's like for couples that have kids now huh?" Iruka squirmed as his lover started to nibble on his neck. "No time for extended foreplay . . . " Iruka stated pushing Kakashi back when he tried to stroke his arousal. Twisting around to the bedside table Iruka pulled the tube of lubrication out that they kept in one of the drawers. Taking the tube from his anxious lover the Jounin followed his lover's instructions and prepared them for a quick tryst. Iruka gave him an irritated look when Kakashi continued to stretch and lubricate him. Using his foot Iruka pushed on Kakashi's arm making him remove his fingers from him. "Enough with that." Iruka insisted wrapping his legs around Kakashi's hips and pulling him closer to his opening. "Iruka, I need to prepare you. We don't have to be in such a hurry do we? You sent him for ramen. It's not like he'll be right back, it takes time to get to Ichiraku's ramen stand." Huffing Iruka pulled his leisurely lover to him. "Come on Kakashi, I don't want to risk Naruto coming back before we're done, you're not going to be able to take your time like you usually do." Unable to help himself Kakashi laughed at the situation. "Whatever you say Iruka, I aim to please." Kakakshi replied as he gave his lover just what he was demanding.

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Practicing his stealth, Naruto carefully opened the door and went into the kitchen with the ramen take-out. He was very proud of how quickly he had made it back, nothing tasted as good as fresh hot ramen, and that had given him all the incentive he needed. Looking around he was surprised not to find his two sensei's anywhere about. Shrugging his shoulders Naruto began his search for the house, hearing some strange noises he hid his chakra and followed the sounds to Iruka-sensei's bedroom. Carefully he pushed the door open and peeked inside.

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Kakashi was in complete heaven, Iruka had finally taken the initiative to go after what he wanted, and Kakashi was getting just what he had been wanting as well. He wouldn't lie; the last several days had been very hard on him. The only time he had gone without Iruka since they became lovers was when he was off on missions. To be stuck in their own home and not able to have the younger man had been torture. Tsunade had given both of them time off of work to take care of Naruto. Iruka had asked him to take turns sleeping on the couch being Iruka felt self-conscious about them sleeping together with Naruto in the house. He could understand not wanting to expose the boy to something his mind couldn't comprehend but, it didn't make it any easier.

Kakashi shivered from the sensation of his manhood being caressed by Iruka's inner sanctum. There was no way he was going to last very long, but from the mewling Iruka was making longevity was not an issue this time. Suddenly Kakashi found himself being thrown off of Iruka. He had been blindsided by something and now found himself no longer surrounded by the warmth of his lover's embrace. He blinked in surprise to find himself now sitting on the floor on his butt; his very naked butt at that, with his still very hard little friend twitching in front of him. Looking up in a daze to the bed he found his irresistible lover still as naked as he had been but now he was holding and consoling an extremely upset Naruto.

"I'm fine Naruto . . . Kakashi wasn't hurting me. Don't be frightened." Kakashi overheard as he pulled on his clothes. Taking Iruka his clothes Kakashi took his turn cooing to Naruto to not be scared and promising he'd never harm Iruka. Having pulled his clothes on Iruka laid his hand on his lover. "I think he's in shock. Let's take him to Tsunade-sama, she'll be able to give him something to calm him down." Nodding Kakashi kneeled down and allowed Iruka to help Naruto onto his back so he could piggy back him to the Hokage Tower.

Making their way through town had given them quite an entourage. Every street they passed seemed to have someone who knew the blonde and were obviously worried about his state of distress. Iruka tried to discourage them from going with them to see Tsunade but he wasn't able to get the former rookie nine or Kakashi's Jounin friends to listen to him at all.

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Iruka delicately explaining to their Hokage how Naruto had walked in on their alone time as Tsunade pressed a warm cup of tea into Naruto's hands and encouraged him to drink. He had to give the Godaime credit; she kept a straight face through the whole explanation and only gave him a nod acknowledging she understood. "Will he be alright Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked from his spot beside Iruka. "Hmm, yes. This tea contains several herbs known for their calming effects. He's just a little shook up I think." She explained coaxing the small blonde to drink.

As he slowly consumed the drink and calmed enough to speak again Tsunade ran her hand through his hair. "There now . . . all better?" Naruto slowly nodded as he looked up with his big blue innocent eyes, his lip trembling slightly he asked. "What was Kakashi doing to Iruka? He was inside him!"

Clearing her throat Tsunade knew this couldn't have been apart of the Hokage job that her grandfather had done. "Now you know Kakashi wouldn't hurt Iruka. They were just showing how much they love each other, you know making each other feel good."

Understanding rushed into his eyes as Naruto turned to face Iruka, with a look of awe on his face he asked. "Were you two doing that because it made your wee-wee feel good?" Clearing his throat and blushing Iruka nodded while trying hard not to face anyone in the crowded room, he did need to keep some dignity. These were some of his old students after all and the rest were all Kakashi's peers. It seemed they would have to explain the birds and the bees to Naruto a bit though.

Smiling Naruto continued to work on innocently embarrass his favorite teachers. "Oh, well then you should do like Sasuke does then. He taught me that you should rub it to make it feel good." Naruto explained holding his tea cup with one hand he reached down with the other in a rather rude gesture of stroking himself. "He even showed me how to rub it for him, I can show you so then you guys can do it too." Naruto informed the group smiling happily at being able to give his old teacher some much needed help.

The younger women in the room seemed to be having problems with their imaginations since they all were wearing blushes that matched Iruka's. "Or you could do like Sasuke did after we defeated his brother. To celebrate after he recovered he rubbed his wee-wee against mine." He explained with a large smile seemingly unaware of the effects his words were having on those in the room. "I have to admit it did feel good but it makes a terrible mess." Naruto frowned thinking about how messy it had been as he went on not aware of the others in the room that now seemed to be having problems breathing. "I think that would be easier on you Iruka-sensei because I still think Kakashi-sensei might have been hurting you because you were making some very strange sounds."

Neji had to admit things had definitely been boring without Naruto around. He truly could not remember the last time he had been so entertained. Walking closer to his friend Neji leaned closer to Konoha's number one surprising ninja and asked very innocently. "What noises was Iruka-sensei making Naruto?" His smile returning Naruto looked up at Neji. "Oh he was making a real racket." Naruto informed him. "He was going like . . . . " Throwing his head back Naruto began his impersonation of his beloved sensei. "Oh . . . Kakashi. Ahhh . . . . " Naruto went on arching his back and wiggling his body as he sat in the chair they had placed him.

Neji smiled as he watched Iruka hide behind his perverted lover looking like he was going to pass out from the amount of blood it was taking to keep his blush that shade. Kakashi was acting like nothing was bugging him but he did give Asume an intolerant look as he punched his shoulder teasingly. Neji bit the inside of his mouth to keep from laughing at his old sensei, Gai. He wasn't sure if the man looked more shocked when he looked at Iruka, his rival Kakashi, or Naruto. Neji could understand the man's trouble Iruka came across so proper acting, Kakashi was his rivial and knowing his sensei he was probably half tempted to try and figure out away to test his sexual prowess against the man in another of their endless challenges, and then there was Naruto looking and sounding like walking sex.

Looking around Neji was surprised when he caught a couple of the other males from the rookie nine eyeing Naruto as he continued his performance. After Naruto admitted that he and Sasuke had at least done some things together the other boys seemed to take look at their friend in a new light. Neji admitted to himself he could clearly understand their attraction to the blond enigma, he was something to behold. 'Especially when he's going on like that.' His inner pervert provided.

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Poor Tsunade, at least made it back to her desk before Naruto finished explaining to Iruka where he went wrong with Kakashi. At first she only shaded her eyes but, after the brat started his impersonations she had no choice but to take her hand and cover her mouth to keep form laughing outright at poor Iruka. Finally finding some mercy for the young Chuunin Tsunade cleared her throat. "I think it's obvious that Iruka and Kakashi could use a break keeping Naruto."

Quickly Iruka spoke up pushing his way around Kakashi. "No Hokage-sama, Naruto is just fine with me. I don't want him to leave." Waving his concern away Tsunade continue. "Now then Iruka, I think Naruto should go spend some time with friends his own age. Just for awhile, then he can return to your home if you both would like." After a few moments of checking the list of those willing to have Naruto stay with them against the list of up coming missions already planned out Naruto was soon placed with one of his friends for the next week. With everything decide Naruto walked out with his next host.

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**kunoichi:** female ninja

**Genin:** Rookie/lower ninja. Acquire forehead protector and are grouped in teams of 3 with a Jounin sensei.

**Chuunin:** After at least 8 missions genins can be nominated by their Jounin sensei to participate in the Chuunin selection exam. Chuunin perform C to B rank missions. Acquire military jacket /vest.

**Jounin: ** Level after Chuunin, an elite ninja's, can take on Genin teams, do A and S rank missions. Perform other positions in village.

**Icha Icha Paradise: **Come Come Paradise; Kakashi's naughty books

**baba**: grandmother, hag

**hitai-ate:** forehead protector

**Ichiraku ramen:** local ramen diner

**Godaime: ** term refering to the 5th person holding the title of Hokage


	5. Chapter 5

_**Ch 5: beta**_

**_Blanket disclaimer: _ I do not claim any rights to Naruto or any characters associated with the anime/manga. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**A/N WARNING: This story contains adult situations, slash pairing (Sas/Nar) & (Kak/Iru), talk of character death, and bad language. Story contains altered events from story line after vol. 32, in the manga. Some spoiler information contained as some characters used are not introduced until later chapters. Japanese words will be translated at the bottom of the page. If you are bothered by slash pairing, not interested in reader spoilers, or not of age to be reading such material then please push the back button now. Please consider leaving a review or comment about the story. Reviews and comments are welcome but no flaming please, anything not to your liking expressed in this warning is your clue to push the back button now.**

_**My deepest thanks to Jaded Lady for her work as beta on this story. I appreciate all your hard work. **_

**'thinking'**

**"talking"**

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**STORY: **

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It had been a long and quiet journey for Sasuke without his blonde companion. He found during his journey that no matter how many times he reminded himself that Naruto could take care of himself that he was still worried about what was going on with Naruto. Several times Sasuke found himself staring in the direction of Konoha, thinking about going to check on Naruto. He always quickly reminded himself he could never return to Konoha. To do so would be a death sentence.

It did not matter that he had never done anything against Konoha, even when he was under Orochimaru's control. The fact still remained that he was a missing-nin that had abandoned his village. He had no doubts that if he was ever found he would be assassinated. The only thing he could do was to remain far from any ninja villages. Besides his blonde lover was a trained ninja, Naruto had studied with him these last several years under the same teachers. Naruto could find his way home all on his own if he wanted to come back. That knowledge did nothing to stifle his desire to go after Naruto and bring him home, but Sasuke was determined that this time he wasn't going to do anything to influence Naruto's decision on what he chose to do.

Sasuke knew he had been too forceful in the past when it came to Naruto, that was why he had decided to give his lover the time and space he needed by letting him return to Konoha. Sasuke had done what he set out to do; with his brother's death his clan had now been avenged. The rest of his life was now his to live how he wanted to. He had hoped to share it with Naruto, but he wanted Naruto to be there because it was what the younger ninja wanted, not because Sasuke had made the decision for him.

Sasuke decided that perhaps he had matured some since the time he had taken Naruto to be with him. Why else would he figure he needed to let Naruto make up his own mind? Before Naruto had met up with the Konoha shinobi's it hadn't been an issue, of course Naruto wanted to be with him. But now with his mind in such confusion it was for the best that Naruto decided what it was he wanted out of life on his own. Leaving him to go to Konoha with Neji, Lee, and TenTen to make up his own mind about where and what he wanted to do with his life had been the only thing Sasuke could think of to do to allow Naruto to see all sides of what had happened when Naruto demanded to know the truth.

Sasuke worried what Naruto would decided, would he understand the whole truth? In fact from Sasuke's point of view there were many sides to the truth. Like a crystal reflecting the sun, depending on where you stood or how you held the truth would determine what it looked like. He knew to some that his way of thinking seemed like a cop-out but he had come to know that as fact of life. When faced with identical situations how people reacted would depend on how they saw it and what they had been through in their own lives.

On one hand it was true leaving Konoha to go to Orochimaru had been a mistake. Sasuke knew he had come very close to loosing his body and soul to that devil but at the time he left all he could see was Konoha and its people holding him back from giving his beloved family the revenge he could hear their spirits calling out for. He knew some of his feelings had come from the curse but those people in Konoha who damned him for his choices had not went through the horrors he had and had not suffered under Orochimaru's curse. Unless they walked in his footsteps they would never be able to understand why he did the things he did.

By going he had been able to learn a lot of techniques that he would never have learned if he had stayed in Konoha. Also living how he did under the criminal Sennin's control had prepared him in a way to be more open to the life he would come to lead with Naruto. Living without friends, without real companions made Naruto being with him more precious than it had been before. If Sasuke hadn't went through everything he had endured he would never have been able to see what his relationship with Naruto meant to him.

If he hadn't taken Naruto and changed his memories so he'd stay with him than the training, his revenge, the future he and Naruto had planned, even the very relationship that they had would never have happened. He knew he might have to pay for the lies he told Naruto in the beginning but he could not bring himself to feel badly about using the forbidden jutsu on his friend.

The only thing he ever felt remotely bad about had been his slip up during the process. Still even that had allowed Naruto to be carefree and have the childhood the blonde had never had while in Konoha. In the past Naruto grew up alone without anyone to care for him or accept him. This time Naruto had Sasuke, his dobe friend had lived these last several years knowing he was the most precious person in the world, at least to Sasuke.

Sasuke believed he had done the right thing to remove Naruto from people like that Sai character. The little dobe had grown into someone that many looked upon with lust in their eyes. Even with his protection to Sasuke's dismay Naruto had still received many pinches to his round little bottom and had perverts bothering him. If he hadn't taken Naruto who knew what would have happened had he stayed in Konoha without Sasuke to look after him.

Sasuke's imagination painted him a lovely picture of Naruto down on his knees, naked. His face red with embarrassment and some other unnamed emotion as it rested on his arms that were lying against the ground while his cute little bottom was pushed high into the air. He was panting and crying out as his body was being shoved forward by that dark-haired shinobi from Konoha that Sasuke had found touching him. The ninja Konoha had replaced him with, the one named Sai, had one hand on Naruto's back, as if holding him down and he had that infuriating smile on his face.

Sasuke's Sharingan flashed as he clenched his hands into fists just from the thought of another person touching Naruto in such a manner. Sasuke had refrained from doing such things with Naruto for fear that the blonde wasn't ready for such a large step and he certainly would never take Naruto so roughly as his imagination showed that other man doing. Shaking his head he came out of his treacherous thoughts, Sasuke silently vowed he would kill anyone who dared to do such things to Naruto. With their home now in view Sasuke stomped the rest of the way.

Four days after Sasuke had left Naruto he finally made it to their home. The home they had built wasn't anything like the house Sasuke had lived in before his clan's massacre but Sasuke was rather fond of the place. They had built it with the promise that they would return after they defeated his brother and live together for the rest of their lives here in this forest. That promise of a future together certainly made up for what the home lacked, the fact that it was really more of a one bedroom hut then a proper home didn't really matter.

Their home had three rooms; the first room was like a living room and kitchen combined. The fire they used to cook with was also used to heat the home. They sort of had a bathroom, with a tub they had to heat water to fill and a homemade shower, the stool was modern but they had to bring water in to flush it. They had been sure to build a septic system for the house even if they hadn't put in running water yet. The only other room was their bedroom; it was only big enough for two homemade cabinets that served as closets for their clothes and a large mattress they slept on together. They had used all the tricks they had learned while they were studying under their first sensei to build their home. Akihoro-sensei had insured that ninja skills were not the only thing he had taught them. He had been sure to teach them about everything in life they need to know to survive on their own. Even if the house was simply and the work had been hard the year they had spent building and living in it before leaving to face Itachi had been one of the happiest times in Sasuke's life.

During their travels they had come across the civilian village that lay at the opposite edge of the forest. This calm forest valley sat at the foot of a mountain range far from the ninja nations. He and Naruto had been staying in the civilian village doing odd jobs to earn money for supplies when Naruto had decided to explore the forest. The blonde shinobi had fallen in love with this clearing and they ultimately built their home there. 'It is a wonderful spot to live.' Sasuke admitted. It was close enough to the village that they could get there within a day if they needed supplies but far enough away that they didn't have to worry about the prying eyes of the villagers.

Walking up to the house he unlocked the door pushing it open, laying his pack down he called out, "I'm home." It was a habit he had picked up from Naruto. At the sound of someone snorting at him he jerked around coming face to face with his clone standing behind him in the doorway. His double dropped the two provision packs inside the house while giving him a rather strange look. Speechless Sasuke blinked at his clone that had been with him during the trip. "Pathetic." His clone said shaking his head at him, drawing out its own kunai his clone stabbed it's self so it could poof away. Irritated Sasuke snorted, he couldn't believe he had just been insulted by a copy of himself. Sighing, he admitted he had been rather pathetic during the journey back.

He could just imagine Naruto at Konoha; he was probably driving them all nuts by now. He knew they would be tempted to treat Naruto like a child, not used to dealing with someone who spoke whatever was on their mind or acted on their emotions and impulses like the blonde did. It was true next to any other trained shinobi Naruto was almost child-like but it had nothing to do with his abilities as a ninja or his lack of being able to take care of himself. Sure Sasuke was worried about him but that was because Naruto was naive and very trusting. Sasuke's concern was Naruto would get used by someone, he knew better than to underestimate Naruto's abilities.

**. . . . Flashback . . . . **

They were traveling through a dense forest in an unnamed area near the Land of Rain, Sasuke stayed to the path that had been pointed out to him while Naruto fluttered around him. At first Sasuke had worried about Naruto leaving his sight but the younger boy had proven during their travels that even if he didn't act like a ninja he had the skills of one and there was no reason to worry about him. Every so often Sasuke could catch Naruto's form flickering in and out of his sight. Whatever caught Naruto's attention would end up leading him from the path. Many times Sasuke would see Naruto following a bird so he could listen to its song or in hopes to catch one of its feathers. That was another thing, Naruto was always picking things up that caught his interest be it a feather, a stone, or a flower and would rush back to show Sasuke his latest treasure.

Sasuke jerked to a stop when Naruto's upside down smiling face came into view. Naruto snickered as he hung upside down from a large tree branch that stretched out above the path.

Naruto had snuck ahead when he noticed the tree. It had a large limb that stretched above the trail Sasuke was following. Unable to resist the chance to play a joke on Sasuke, Naruto used his chakra to run up the side of the tree and onto the leafy limb to wait until Sasuke reached the tree so he could surprise him. As Sasuke approached Naruto allowed himself to slip around the limb so he was hanging upside down in Sasuke's path.

Sasuke was tempted to scold Naruto but the memory of making the younger boy cry last time he had was still fresh in his mind. It was his fault after all his blonde friend was how he was. If he hadn't screwed up when doing the memory implantation jutsu Naruto wouldn't be this way. Well, he would to a point because the blonde had always been immature in Sasuke's mind but not as bad as he was at present. Instead of scolding Naruto, Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and as he passed by him he flicked his earlobe as punishment.

"Sasukeee . . . ." He heard Naruto whine, glancing back he found Naruto had jumped off of the limb and was now standing in the middle of the path watching him walk away. Naruto was pouting and holding the ear he had flicked. Smirking Sasuke continued on his way knowing Naruto would soon be by his side again.

Of course he was right and soon Naruto was walking beside him. "Bastard. That hurt you know." Naruto chastised him. Still smirking Sasuke nodded, agreeing that he did know. "You don't care you hurt my ear do you?" Naruto asked though he acted as if he already knew the answer. "I'll show you. I think I should just . . . ." Naruto trailed off suddenly stopping in the middle of the path, Sasuke stopped to look back at his companion the smirk fallen from his face. His blonde friend was stand still his eyes closed and his head cocked listening to his surroundings, when Naruto would stand like that it reminded Sasuke of an animal suddenly catching the sounds of its prey.

Sasuke stopped as well to listen but couldn't hear anything. He wasn't upset that he couldn't, Naruto had very good hearing and often could hear things Sasuke couldn't. Sasuke figured it had to do with being the vessel for the demon fox Kyuubi. The dark-haired shinobi knew Naruto had many talents that came from being a vessel.

Just as abruptly as he stopped Naruto's eyes popped open and he darted off away from the path, hell bent on following whatever it was he was hearing. Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to stop Sasuke hitched his pack up on his shoulders and took off after the blonde. He could just make out the orange of Naruto's clothes as he darted through the woods. Sasuke could hear it now; the sound of a young child calling for help, pouring on the speed Sasuke finally matched his companion's pace as they came to a break in the tree line. Breaking out of the woods Sasuke skidded to a stop beside Naruto, who had his fingers curled like claws into the dirt to stop himself. Both ninjas panted staring wide eyed at the edge of a deep gorge.

Taking a deep breath Sasuke reached over and bopped Naruto on top of the head. Grabbing hold of his abused head Naruto growled at him. "What the hell was that for teme?" Pushing himself to stand Sasuke brushed the dust off of his clothes. "That's for not watching where you were going. You almost fell in dobe." Bolting up Naruto dusted himself off as well. "Well excuse me. I didn't see you realizing that gorge was there until the last minute either. Mister, I'm so perfect." Stomping around Naruto yelled. "Ugh, I just hate it when you act like your sooo great." Crossing his arms over his chest Naruto turned away. "Sasuke acts like he's perfect. Like his farts don't stink."

Sasuke watched in amusement as Naruto went on mumbling to himself. Quickly Naruto turned back to him and pointed his finger at him. "I've smelled your farts plenty of times and they stink Sasuke." The raven-haired older boy sighed and closed his eyes at his companion's accusation. Just as Sasuke was ready to remind Naruto that his farts weren't pleasant either they were stopped by a voice.

"Please, do you think you could help me over here?" A soft childish voice said from an old bridge that ran the length of the chasm. Naruto dropped his backpack, completely forgetting about the argument he had been waging, running toward the bridge with Sasuke right on his heals.

There in the middle of the derelict bridge was a young boy whose foot had fallen through one of the rotten boards. Naruto started across toward the boy only to have Sasuke jerk him back. "You jerk, what's wrong with you? Can't you see the boy needs help." Pulling Naruto back to his pack Sasuke rummaged inside till he brought out a rope. "At least use your head fool. That bridge is unstable, tie this around you and I'll hold it in case the bridge gives." Sasuke instructed him.

Taking hold of one end Naruto worked on tying it around him as they headed back over. "You need to learn to use your brain dobe. Unless you wanted to take the chance of falling to your death." Sasuke said just as Naruto started to step out on the bridge. Glancing over his shoulder Naruto smiled back. "But if I died then I wouldn't have to smell your farts." The smaller shinobi pointed out, carefully taking a step out on the bridge.

Sasuke shook his head at his companion as he wound the end of the rope around one of the support poles that was driven into the ground at the entrance of the old bridge. "Keep hold of the suspension cord that runs the length of the bridge Naruto, even if the boards give way the cords still seem to be in good shape." Sasuke instructed while he kept a tight hold on the rope attached to Naruto as he slowly moved across the rickety bridge toward the boy trapped there.

Holding tight to the suspension cords like Sasuke had told him too, Naruto made his way towards the young boy in the middle of the bridge. Looking back Naruto couldn't help but smile at Sasuke; he was slowly feeding line out to him. His companion's stance showed how uptight he was and he seemed to have an extremely tight gripe on the rope too.

It was times like this when Sasuke couldn't hide how he felt about him that Naruto loved. Their journey wasn't always peaches and cream. There were many times that their personalities clashed and Sasuke's drive to gain power so he could kill his own brother bothered Naruto. At first Naruto had wondered why Sasuke even wanted them to travel together, in those days Naruto had often thought of setting out on his own. The longer they were together though the more Naruto understood that Sasuke really did care about him, his dark-haired companion just had trouble showing it.

Several times Sasuke felt his heart leap up into his throat when a board would groan and splinter or outright break under Naruto's weight. Each time Sasuke braced himself worried that the bridge would give way and Naruto would fall. Naruto was the best one for this though; he was smaller than Sasuke and weighed less. Plus Naruto was much better dealing with people than Sasuke was, especially children. Sasuke sighed in relief when the blonde was finally beside the boy.

Naruto held tight to the suspension cord while looking over the predicament the smaller boy had himself in. Naruto smiled warmly to the younger boy when he looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "Don't worry, Naruto nii-san will save you." Naruto told the child as he took hold of his hand and attempted to pull him up. Naruto froze when the boy cried out in pain. Looking down he found the boys leg had not only broke through the board but also had large splinter sticking out of his leg, it was the largest splinter of wood that was catching. Biting his lip Naruto looked back at Sasuke.

Sasuke could tell the blonde was thinking about doing something stupid. "What's wrong?" He yelled knowing he had no way to stop Naruto. "He's got pieces of wood stuck in his leg and it's catching when I try to pull him through. I'm going to have to widen the whole." Naruto yelled back, releasing his hold on the suspension cord and moving to straddling the board the boy had fallen through. Sasuke sucked in a breath as the bridge swayed from Naruto's sudden movement. Channeling chakra into his feet and hands Sasuke tighten his grip. "You idiot, be careful!"

Naruto paid no heed as he pulled out his kunai and began chipping away at the rotten wood to widen the hole. "Wrap you arms around my neck . . . umm, what's your name?" Naruto asked not stopping in his task. Sniffing the smaller boy answered him after doing as Naruto said. "My name is Eiji." The boy replied pushing his face into Naruto's shoulder and rubbing against it. "Hey, don't get your snot on me." Naruto childishly chided as he finished widening the hole, returning his kunai to his holder he shifted his weight. "I'm going to stand up and pull you out of the hole Eiji. After your out I'm going to shift you around so I can piggy back you off the bridge. Okay?" Eiji nodded his head against Naruto's shoulder tightening his hold.

Carefully Naruto lifted Eiji up, watching his wounded leg as it came out of the board. Naruto smiled as Eiji's leg cleared the opening, straightening up he began to shift the boy around to his back. The combination of their weight proved to be too much for the old bridge; suddenly the boards he was standing on gave way.

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the boards give way, he hadn't been able to move Eiji around to his back yet grabbing hold of the boy Naruto pulled him in close to his chest as he fell. They fell a short way before coming to a stop for a moment. It seemed the board the boy had been stuck in wasn't as rotten as the surrounding boards had been. "Oooow!" Naruto yelled as he fell onto the board he had been straddling.

Sasuke watched as the bridge gave way and Naruto fell. Wincing in sympathy Sasuke noted to himself Naruto was probably going to need a cool compress when he got back seeing how pale he looked. Sasuke gasped and pushed even more chakra into his feet when the other board between his friend's legs gave way dropping him and the little boy into the gorge. Sasuke gritted his teeth against the rope burn he was getting from trying to hold on. The rope caused the other boards to give way as well until Naruto was hanging by the cliff wall. Tying off the rope Sasuke went to the side and looked over.

Swinging slightly at the end of the rope was a very pale Naruto still holding the younger boy in his arms. Sighing Sasuke began pulling Naruto up, soon he was extending his hand to help the smaller shinobi up over the edge. Setting Eiji down on solid ground Naruto grasped himself and began to roll around on the ground. Chuckling Sasuke rolled his eyes while Naruto moaned about his humiliating pain.

Checking the boy's injuries Sasuke could tell he needed medical attention but he hated to use what supplies they had. If he and Naruto ended up having to face other ninjas looking to collect the bounty he was sure was on his head then they would need those supplies for themselves, plus he wasn't looking forward to having to find employment again to earn more money for supplies.

Any worries about supplies went right out the window as soon as Naruto recovered from his wound. The blonde had dug out their medical kits and was busy pulling out the wood and treating the wound before Sasuke could even voice his opposition. Naruto had obviously guessed what the look he was wearing was about because he stuck his tongue out at him. "If Eiji's family doesn't have replacements for what we used on him then I'll get a job and replace them myself." Naruto proclaimed repacking the kits and returning them to their packs. Squatting in front of Eiji, Naruto helped the boy get onto his back. "Point the way Eiji, I'll take you home. Grab our packs bastard." Naruto instructed taking off in the direction the boy had pointed out.

Sighing Sasuke grabbed both packs and moved to follow. Sasuke stayed behind Naruto listening to him talk to the boy like they were old friends. Naruto was that way wherever they went, always making friends with everyone and he never seemed to know when to shut his mouth.

"So Eiji, what were you doing out there on that bridge? It didn't seem very safe; does your family often use it?" Naruto asked making conversation with the boy. He heard the boy make a nervous sound before he answered. "No, I wasn't supposed to be near the bridge but I've always wanted to go to the other side of the gorge. I thought if I was careful everything would be fine. Guess I was wrong." Eiji admitted. "Grandfather is going to be so angry with me."

Naruto nodded that he understood. "Well I hope you learned your lesson. I'm sure your grandfather won't be too hard on you." He said hoping to alleviate some of the boy's worries. "You don't understand Naruto nii-san. Grandfather was once a powerful ninja, he was injured in the war so he had to stop but he is still a powerful man."

Sasuke stopped in shock of what he was hearing. This boy's grandfather was a shinobi? What if they were from the former Sound Village? If this man had been a ninja belonging to the Sound village and knew who he was, well it could mean problems for them. Sasuke knew there would be many who would hold a grudge against him. He was supposed to be Lord Orochimaru's vessel but he had run away before it could be done. Sound was attacked and defeated days later, many had been killed in the fighting and many more were captured and assassinated. Sasuke swallowed before he spoke up. "Do you know what village your grandfather was a ninja in?" The boy turned back to look at him and shook his head no. "Grandfather doesn't like to speak about it; he says he lost many friends and all of his family in the war."

Biting his lower lip in worry Sasuke ran up beside Naruto. "Naruto I'm sure Eiji can make it back to his family without us going with him. You've carried him this whole way, let's just leave him at the edge of his family's place and head out. We've lost enough time on this." Turning to look at his friend Naruto gave him a dirty look for his suggestion. "Get real, Eiji is hurt badly. I'm not leaving him at the edge of his village for him to make it home on his own. Besides maybe his family will be gracious enough to put us up for the night. I'm sick of sleeping in a tent and I for one could use a nice home cooked meal."

Growling Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "Dobe, quit thinking with your stomach." Naruto wrinkled his nose up at Sasuke and shook his head. "Stop being an asshole, look we're here."

Sure enough they had made it to a small cluster of huts there in the woods that the boy lived at. Eiji pointed out the hut near the middle, which naturally was his grandfather's hut. Sasuke could feel his stomach tie in knots as the approached. The place was almost unnaturally quiet. In an effort to gain someone's attention Naruto yelled. "Hey Eiji's grandfather! Come out here old man." Sasuke slapped himself in the forehead, leave it up to Naruto to insult someone before he even met them.

An old man using a cane exited the hut looking the boys over. "Eiji what is the meaning of this?" The old man asked giving the young boy a stern look. Eiji eeped and hid his face against Naruto's back. Sasuke looked carefully at the man, it was obvious this man hadn't been a ninja in a very long time, there was no way he had been a part of the Sound Village. Feeling braver about the situation Sasuke stepped forward. "We found this boy at the bridge that spans the chasm near your village sir."

Turning to Sasuke the man narrows his eyes. "I don't see any village here boy, only a group of huts." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in return before he could snap at the man Naruto butted in. "Hey old man, Eiji hurt himself playing on the bridge. He's not a feather you know, got somewhere I can put him?" Nodding the old man turned back to his hut. "This way, Eiji's folks went to trade at the village. Your mother won't be happy to find you hurt Eiji." Entering the hut Naruto went to a sitting cushion and placed the boy on it. Bring the boy some pain medicine the grandfather sighed. "Eiji, you know better than to play on that bridge and now you've brought strangers to our home." Eiji lowered his head. "I'm sorry grandfather but they are really nice." Smiling Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I'm Naruto and this grouchy bastard is Sasuke." He introduced earning a punch for his words. Rubbing his shoulder Naruto pouted at his companion's treatment of him.

Bowing to the two young men the old man finally introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am Akihoro. Thank you for helping my foolish grandson in his time of need. It would be my honor to have you both stay the night with us as reward for helping Eiji." Smiling brightly Naruto answered for them. "Yes." He said pumping his fist in the air. "A night in a real house. Thanks a lot Akihoro jii-san." Sasuke bowed in thanks but sighed at the thought of staying.

It was obvious Akihoro wasn't a solider from Sound but still Sasuke would be happier to stay away from people. "So where is everyone?" Naruto asked looking back out at the empty huts. Motioning for them to take a seat while he worked on dinner Akihoro explained. "The rest of the people went to one of the villages that surround this woods to trade for things we need. I being the oldest stayed with Eiji who is the youngest to watch over our homes." The old man explained added some more ingredients to the stew he had cooking over the fire.

After they ate dinner and Naruto helped put Eiji to bed for the evening they sat around the fire and had tea. To Sasuke's dismay Naruto began asking Akihoro questions. "Jii-san, Eiji told us you use to be a ninja. Which village are you from and why are you out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being there?" Sasuke gave Naruto a disbelieving look, he didn't want to talk to this old man about being a ninja. What if he found out who he was?

Akihoro sat down across from them having served tea, looking at Sasuke he narrowed his eyes as if measuring him, turning to Naruto he relaxed and smiled. "Yes I was a ninja a long time ago, I belonged to the Hidden Rain Village back during the great ninja war. Long before you two were born."

Sasuke relaxed, the boy had said his grandfather hadn't been a ninja since the war. A war that happened before they had been born. Sasuke could feel Akihoro's eyes on him again but ignored them in favor of drinking his tea. The old man was no longer a concern to him. If this man had not been a ninja for so long there was no way he could know of him.

Naruto watched as both Akihoro and Sasuke seemed to be testing each other and sighed. 'Why is everyone always interested in Sasuke's skills and not mine?' He wondered. 'I'm just as good of a ninja as Sasuke.' Pouting a bit Naruto called Akihoro's attention back to him. "Eiji said you stopped because you got hurt. So why are you living way out here in the middle of nowhere instead of being in your village old man?"

Akihoro laughed. "Full of questions I see. I lost my clan and many friends in those horrible wars. Then I lost my ability to be a ninja, I had nothing left to give my village so I retired and left so I wouldn't be a hindrance to my people." He explained, taking out an old pipe and lighting it up. "During a time of war the last thing they needed was more civilians to worry about, especially one that couldn't run." Akihoro said blowing a smoke ring. "I met a woman, a civilian, who could look past my injuries and we started a family together. The war worsened so we moved until we found ourselves out here in the middle of nowhere raising our children with several other families that were also tired of living in a land filled with wars." Akihoro looked down into his tea; ignoring both boys while he was lost in his past. "Back then there was always tension between the hidden villages. The daimyou's would argue and fight and would send both ninja and samurai to fight on their behalf, plus our Kage's would look to conquer other villages." Taking a small sip of tea the old man sighed returning his pipe to his mouth. "It was a hard time to be alive let alone be a ninja. I killed my fair share of people in the name of men I didn't even believe in so when I survived my injury that took my ability to serve I was not sad." Taking the pipe from his mouth the man leaned forward. "What of you two?"

Before Sasuke could stop him Naruto started in. "We used to live in Konoha. We were trained as ninjas as well but Sasuke's clan was killed. He lost everyone to their killer who is his own brother. So we're looking for sensei's to teach us so we can face his brother." Naruto stated. "Hey do you think you could teach us?" Shoving Naruto's shoulder Sasuke made him spill his tea. "Ugh, what was that for?" Giving Naruto a dirty look Sasuke said. "You talk to much dobe."

"So your looking for a teacher are you?" Akihoro asked. "Well, you did save my grandson's life. I made the rank of Special Jounin before I was injured. I could teach you a few things. If you can be patient with an old man. The harvest season will be on us soon and then winter. I'll make you boys a deal; stay till after the spring planting season and help in our fields and I will teach you all I know. You can live here in my hut till spring and you will be well feed. What do you say?"

Unable to believe how easily Naruto had talked the man into teaching them Sasuke nodded. This was what he had been hoping for though he for one would have never thought this old man would have been willing to help them. "Yes, no more tents for us." Naruto cheered drinking what was left of his tea.

True to his word Akihoro allowed them to live in his hut and in exchange for working in their fields the old man became their sensei. He taught them all they would ever need to know about living out in the wild. What herbs and other plants would help with sickness and injury; something a good ninja needed to know especially during the wars when supplies were limited. They were shown how to track and how to find their way when they were lost without having to ask for help. Akihoro taught them more about spying and information gathering. His specialty had been Taijutsu and he showed them many moves that would help with defense as well as attacks not only against other Taijutsu moves but also things that would work against Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Besides all of this he and his extended family showed them many skills that would help them find work when they needed it.

Come spring he and Naruto left. Akihoro and his people were kind to them, especially to Naruto. Many times Sasuke felt that Akihoro might have not believed the story they gave him about why they were traveling. Though he never mentioned anything, the looks he would give Sasuke told him that the old man wasn't stupid. When they left Akihoro was sure to tell Sasuke in private that he was to take good care of Naruto and reminded him the blonde was his responsibility.

Akihoro gave a note to Naruto giving them direction to the man they were to deliver the note to. The man they were to go see was an old friend who owed Akihoro a favor; their sensei told them he had helped this man named Koji in the past. They had met in the days after Akihoro had been injured and he left his village but before he married and settled down. Koji became their second sensei as a favor to Akihoro and so their training went. Each man sent them to another till they felt they were ready to face Itachi.

--------------------------------------

There had been so many times Sasuke had Naruto to thank for helping him. It was during those early days traveling with Naruto he had realized that only focusing on the pain of losing his family wasn't enough to motivate him. Naruto's presence and watching his improvement pushed Sasuke to try harder.

Sasuke's intention had been to protect Naruto from others who seemed to be out to use him when Sasuke first abducted him. Since Sakura obviously still ignored the blonde Sasuke had felt he was in the right to take Naruto away. If no one else cared about him then why shouldn't Sasuke take Naruto away and protect him? Even if no one else recognized the blonde's skills Sasuke knew that Naruto had the power to help him defeat his brother. Over time though their friendship developed into more, Sasuke found himself watching Naruto with different eyes.

Leaning against a tree beside Naruto, Sasuke panted trying to catch his breath after a round of sparring. Trying to catch his breath Sasuke closed his eyes. Soon they would begin their search for Itachi, Sasuke knew they were ready to face his brother but without supplies and some money they were not going to get very far. They had found this village in the civilian lands beyond Wind Country. They had made it this far towards the ninja nations by the fall season when they ran out of money. With the winter season fast approaching and no supplies they had began their search for work.

Luckily they had found work with the village woodcutter. His workers had been injured when a tree fell on them. With their ninja skills woodcutting wasn't a very dangerous job but cutting and pulling loads of wood from the forest all day would help build their stamina. Izanagi-san had been kind enough to allow them to move into his workshop and provided them with three meals a day and a small amount of income in exchange for their work. He had been shocked to see how they could walk up the side of the trees without assistance and the strength they both had compared to their size was amazing to all the villagers, but this was a similar reaction they had received in all the civilian villages that were not used to dealing with ninjas.

Normally they worked six days a week but this week was the beginning of some festival for the village so Izanagi-san had graciously given them the whole week off. He and Naruto had packed up a lunch and disappeared into the woods after breakfast. Currently they were both leaning against a large tree panting, their sparring match had ended in a tie.

Looking over at his companion Sasuke smiled. Naruto had his eyes shut, his cheeks were rosy from the cold wind blowing against them and his hair had flopped down into his face. For a while now Sasuke had noticed that his breath would catch in his chest when he watched Naruto. He had always watched his companion, Sasuke found the smaller ninja very amusing. Sasuke had never felt drawn to others like he did with Naruto though. Reaching over he pushed Naruto's hair back out of his eyes.

Feeling Sasuke touch him Naruto opened his eyes, recently Sasuke had been touching him more. Naruto didn't mind Sasuke touching him at all in fact he liked that they had become so close to one another that Sasuke felt he could be more open with him. Seeing Sasuke's small smile Naruto couldn't help but smile back at him.

Sasuke felt his breath hitch at Naruto's smile, the blonde always had the sweetest expression and most of the time those expressions, like this smile were for him and him alone. Being with Naruto warmed his heart in a way he had never felt before, careful so as not to upset the younger boy Sasuke leaned over and gently touched his lips to Naruto's. Never taking his eyes off of the blonde's he watched as Naruto's eyes widened at the touch then became hooded as he kissed Sasuke back.

**. . . . End flashback . . . . **

Sasuke walked into the bedroom, the trip back had been difficult for him, he really should have taken more time on his return but he had been worried about having to face Anubs from Konoha after Naruto had been found so he had kept moving. Looking into the bedroom at the large bed awaiting him he froze. Naruto had been the one to insure Sasuke had thought about his future after Itachi's death. Sasuke had not been concerned with what would happen after he faced Itachi but Naruto had insisted that they build a home so they had something to return to in the end.

Everything in his life was thanks to Naruto. All his training had been because of the blonde. The future he had built with Naruto was due to Naruto's insistence. His survival during his fight with Itachi, his recovery, even this very house he was standing in was thanks to Naruto.

They had been working in the civilian village working to earn money for their journey when Naruto decided that this place was where he wanted to live. They had fought a long time over the idea of staying, and it was Naruto who explored the forest and found the spot where their house now sat. Sasuke at first didn't want a permanent home but Naruto refused to take no as an answer. In the end Naruto persuaded him to build a home together by telling him that if his life was only focused on one thing he would forget about having a future and might throw his life away needlessly.

It was during their time in the nearby village that Sasuke began to accept he did want a future, not just revenge. The future he wanted was with Naruto. It took them a year to finish the house and during that time Sasuke and Naruto's relationship blossomed from shy touches and cautious kisses to them actually beginning to love on each other, although Sasuke always refrained from taking that last step. It had been in his plan that after the face-off with Itachi he and Naruto would return and continue their relationship. In fact if Naruto hadn't have met up with Neji, Lee, and TenTen right now Naruto would have been standing beside him in their bedroom.

Turning away from the bedroom Sasuke grabbed the provision pack that had their tent in it and walked out of the house. He couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in the home they had built together without Naruto. Sasuke sighed; part of him wondered if Naruto missed him and would return soon. He hoped while Naruto was looking for that truth he was so worried about that he didn't forget what they had shared together all these years. Of course Sasuke's reasons for doing what he did wasn't going to change the truth of those acts but the reasons it happened and what came from after didn't they count as much as the truth did?

Unrolling his sleeping bag Sasuke lay down in the sun to rest for awhile before pitching the tent. For Naruto's sake he was willing to stay a step behind while Naruto figured out what was in his heart. As long as Naruto remembered to trust in what they had found between them Sasuke knew they could be together again. If Naruto went back to Konoha to stay it would kill a part of Sasuke's soul but he would respect whatever decision Naruto made. Even if that decision was a life without him.

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**kunai:** throwing knife

**daimyou: ** japanese feudal lord

**Kage: **wordmeans shadow. Highest ninja position, leader of the village. Each village refers to their Kage by a different name reflecting the country they repersent

**Ninjutsu:** stealth skills which can range from element based attacks to simple diversions.

**Genjutsu:** illusion skills used to confuse an opponent or incapacitate them mentally.

**Taijutsu: ** hand to hand combat skills used to damage and opponent externally or internally

**Sharingan: ** copy wheel eye (doujutsu-bloodline limit of uchiha clan) capability to read and defeat all types of nin,tai, and genjutsu can copy almost any technique seen except for hijutsu. This is same for all the types of Sharingan.

**dobe: ** dead last (Sasuke's pet name for Naruto)

**jiji: **grandfather, old man

**teme:** bastard (Naruto's pet name for Sasuke)


End file.
